REMEMBERING ROOTS

An award-winning artwork by two Christchurch high school students, which represents the roots of their whakapapa, now sits proudly in front of Rangi Ruru Girls’ School’s new sport and multi-purpose centre.

Kia mau ki tō ūkaipō Remembering Roots by Rangi Ruru students Sienna O’Shanessey (Ngāi Tahu) and Aggie Weston (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Hauā) won the senior category of SCAPE Public Art Re:ACTIVATE Aspiring Artists in 2021 when they were just 16 years old.

The red metal waka was originally installed in Hagley Park near the river at the end of Salisbury Street but now marks the entrance to Atawhai, Rangi Ruru’s new sport and multi-purpose building completed last year.

“This waka represents the roots of our whakapapa and the continuation of our legacy, remembering and celebrating our ancestry,” say the artists.

“The simplicity of our waka was designed to allow the wai to flow through; this is symbolic of the flow of life and that the land is always connected to mana whenua. It is placed here at Rangi Ruru exactly aligned northeast to follow the stars in the Southern Hemisphere that led our ancestors to Aotearoa.”

The artwork was originally designed to be placed in the Ōtākaro river, but SCAPE could not gain consent for this. Instead, it was presented on a concrete base horizontal to the awa and walking track, reflecting the importance of the Ōtākaro as a source of mahinga kai, a traditional food source.

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