“To call outward is to expel breath from within – like a karanga during a powhiri or a wailing at a tangi. An outward expression acknowledging or responding to an external catalyst. To call inward is to receive a message into the self – like an internal voice, sometimes a whisper and other times a deafening chaotic cry.” Vanessa Edwards Buerger.
I was invited to this be part of this show by my dear friend Vanessa, the show is a karanga to her mama and the place she shared with her growing up, Tāhuna, Queenstown. She asked other members of her Toi Whakaata Māori printmakers collective to join her in this journey back home.
When she sent through the invite, she told us the only prerequisite was to consider pattern. The pattern that is a constant in my art practice is whakapapa, and so I chose to show some earlier bioplastic pieces, shown at the Laree Payne Gallery, that called out to the lost whakapapa, ngā tini whetu. You can see more about those here from they were first shown.
We also all brought along some of our wearable pieces. So I chose to show more adornment pieces from my 1835 series, you can read more about that kaupapa here.
Thanks for bringing me along on your haerenga home e hoa x
TOI BY TESSA 