Hotere and Culbert partnered on several major projects. Black Stump is an outstanding example of one of their collaborations. Both artists favour a similar dark theme for much of their work however they often introduce elements of natural and artificial light.
The dark and the light come together here with *Black Stump perforated by a constellation of tiny holes and the use of layered glass to represent the stars of the southern night sky. The tower is made of black powder coated steel and is 20 meters tall by one-meter square.
Pou Tokomanawa is a central heart pole of a meeting house. Carved pou narrate the relationship between the ancestors, the environment and the reputation of the tangata whenua (indigenous people of the land).
This pou provides a cultural welcome or farewell to visitors of the 29-storey Shortland & Fort building as they go about their business.
Lyonel Grant is a widely acclaimed master carver and sculptor now residing in the United States and working with American First Nations peoples. His work can be found in public spaces all over Aotearoa (New Zealand).
This sculpture has three components and was created using Oamaru limestone. It represents the High Court and is based on the balance scales which are traditionally associated with justice. It also symbolises those involved in the court process, including a barrister defending the accused.
The twelve pieces of timber draw their significance from the Māori legend of Tāne who climbed through the twelve heavens to obtain three baskets of knowledge. The twelve river stones represent the twelve members of the jury.
Scott’s stained-glass sculpture welcomes visitors to the High Court. It represents tangata whenua (indigenous people), their guardianship and partnership. Each panel has cultural significance.
The purple panel acknowledges the Ngāti Whātua people – their rights to chieftainship over their lands and treasures. The green panel, Tainui people’s rights to chieftainship and management of their iwi (tribal group).
The red panel represents Māori people and their right to their perspective. The blue panel is for pākehā (European people) and acknowledges their responsibilities. The panels also represent every individual’s right to be themselves – in reasonable cooperation and partnership with others.
This marae (meeting place) is named after the fishing village, Waipapa. The name acknowledges Ngāti Whātua Orākei as the tangata whenua (indigenous people) of Waitematā.
Harrison (1928 – 2008), the tohunga whakairo (master carver), conceived the work to reflect ancestors of students from all tribes. Logs from tōtara and kauri trees were donated by the Ngāti Hine tribe for the carvings.
On the walls are the captains and priest-navigators of the waka that brought the different tribes here in the 14th century and Tangi’ia, an ancestor whose presence connects the islands of the Pacific with Aotearoa.
Te Pou Herenga Tangata is the mauri or life essence and the kaitiaki (guardian) of Te Herenga Mātai Pūkaha, the Faculty of Engineering. It is a symbol of the connection to the whenua and the people - to those who are here and those who are yet to come.
The name was gifted by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to welcome everyone. Values that the pou (pillar of support) represents are whakawhanaungatanga (establishing relationships), kaitiakitanga (guardianship) of people and mātauranga (knowledge), creativity, innovation, diversity and collective wisdom.
This bronze sculpture is part of a series known as Kapa Haka. The artist was inspired by the sight of his older brother Paratene (a security guard), standing in a doorway in this stance.
Parekowhai had not expected to meet him that day and saw him, in that moment, as a stranger would have seen him. “One of the thoughts behind the work is that this is the undervalued servant or service provider,” Michael says, “the nameless helper in society that keeps us safe, though we don’t know it, like the unknown soldier, but less heroic.”
These magnificent tukutuku (woven latticework) panels exemplify the approach to reviving traditional weaving techniques in the mid twentieth century. Originally installed within the Auckland Adult Education Centre at 21 Princes Street, they were intended to be both aesthetic and provide future educational instruction.
At that time, the centre was the only building in the city decorated with Māori artwork and was praised as ‘an antidote to urban alienation for Māori’. Fortunately, when the centre closed, the panels survived and have been restored and are now installed in the clocktower.
Enter through the majestic kauri (native tree) columns adorned with the work of master carvers Arnold Manaaki Wilson (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Tarawāhi) and Anthony Wilson (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Tarawāhi, Ngāpuhi). Then, take a visual journey through New Zealand’s unique bi-cultural history.
Explore centuries of art across the four floors and the research library in one of Tāmaki Makaurau’s (Auckland’s) most iconic buildings. Discover one of New Zealand's largest collections of art from contemporary Māori art to the rangatira (chiefs) painted by 19th-century portraitists Goldie and Lindauer.
Free tours run 11.30am and 1.30pm daily.
Gallery entry is free.
aucklandartgallery.com