AT T H E FOOT OF THE MAUNGA AN AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL WHĀNUI PROJECT Presentation Dates: 7–29 March Locations: Panmure Basin (behind Waipuna Hotel) & Onehunga Bay Reserve, Onehunga
ABOUT THE PROJECT
ARTIST STATEMENTS
WAKA Ā HAPORI CREDITS
At the Foot of the Maunga is a project where the neighbouring suburbs of Tāmaki and Maungakiekie team up to transform public space. This exchange of ideas has manifested into two large-scale sculptural installations.
BOBBY MACDONALD (Ngā Puhi, Te Arawa, Scotland)
Supporting Artists Erich Roebeck Lee Taia Chantiq Partridge
In association with TGTB Charitable Trust and led by artists Bobby MacDonald and Chantel Matthews, a series of free workshops were held to engage and invite the community to assist in the making of these installations. Waka ā Hapori was created in Panmure and is presented in Onehunga; Te Ipu Kai was created in Onehunga and is presented in Panmure. Both were exchanged at the foot of Mount Smart, formerly known as Mount Rarotonga. At the Foot of the Maunga hopes to inspire a new voyage, connecting communities through history, art and kōrero, and encourage us all to take guardianship of our land, our sea and environment. THE INSTALLATIONS
IS PART OF
TE REO TUIA TE MUKA KŌRERO
CORE FUNDERS
MAJOR FUNDER
CELEBRATING TĀMAKI MAKAURAU & OUR CREATIVE NEIGHBOURHOODS
AAF.CO.NZ
Waka ā Hapori (Community Waka) is a sculpture inspired by a waka tētē (fishing canoe). Waka tētē were historically used for the transportation of people and goods along the surrounding rivers of Tāmaki, due to its abundance in kaimoana and cultivation. In contrast to today, the fish scales bring awareness to the depletion of our kaimoana due to overfishing, heavy pollution and rubbish in our waters, especially plastic. Considering milk as a staple in New Zealand homes, using milk bottles as a material highlights dairy agriculture affects such as the degradation of clean air and water as well as plastic waste in our landfill. The workshops included creating 3,000 fish scales made from recycled milk bottles which adorn the waka. Te Ipu Kai (Food Bowl), led by artist Bobby MacDonald and supported by The 312 Hub was created in Onehunga and is displayed in Panmure. This sculpture was informed as part of a Hikoiā te Korero where participants cycled around Onehunga Bay, Manukanuka o Hoturoa (Manukau Harbour) and Kura a Maki (Mount Smart / Rarotonga) as a way to share the kōrero o nehera (stories of the past) by breathing life into those spaces. The workshops created plywood designs of kai moana (seafood) out of plywood which was once found in Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa (Manukau Harbour).
Bobby MacDonald’s Mural arts practice is centered around the exploration of his whakapapa/cultural identity, and his relationship to his Tūpuna. Macdonald was born and raised in an urban environment. As a father of young boys, his practice has inspired him to use his art to retrace his lineage back to his Papakāinga. It has also equipped him to be the appropriate person to guide, nurture and teach his sons for the day when they have a strong desire to know who they are where they are from. His journey dives into the depths of the Te Ao Māori world view, the whakapapa of our Atua Māori, and how to apply tikanga values as artists within the constructs of our urban environments. MacDonald hopes to express balance between the contemporary and traditional worlds through his work, to beautify spaces, upskill the next generation, and weave knowledge, stories and people together through the celebration of our local champions, Tamatoa and Wahinetoa in the foundations of Ngā Atua Hou. CHANTEL MATTHEWS (Tainui, Pakeha) Chantel Matthews (Perawiti) practice discusses social, political and cultural concerns through her own subjectivity as a woman, mother, artist and Māori. Her work is interested in the self and society, examining her own position in the world by creating moments that encourage the viewer to ‘experience’ the heightened moments of today’s social issues, which may be otherwise invisible, to foster critical thought. The objects she makes are both ‘things’ and ‘matters of her concern’ which then invite the viewer to observe, engage, and perhaps impact the self and society in a different and positive way.
Ngā mihi Chantiq Partridge Panmure Community Centre Panmure Community Library Fish scale volunteers Milk bottle collectors Eight Letters Café Glen Innes Radius Waipuna Resthome Te Rangi Kaihoro The 312 Hub Ma’ara Maeva Shane Maclean Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board Regional Facilities Auckland Waipuna Hotel
TE IPU KAI CREDITS Participants Grace Le’aetalafoou Jaylan Ruha Ayden Mita Harrison Winiata Connor Winiata Connor Pinique Jaeda Alaalatoa-Dale Odette Alaalatoa-Dale Jackson Pinique
Josiah Le’aetalafoou Mina Momeny Grace Peart Caitlin Winiata Douglas Cornes Frieda Peart Kaea MacDonald Zane MacDonald Irihana Wīteri-Katene
Ngā mihi Amiria Puia-Taylor Carters (Onehunga) Joe Puia-Taylor Ma’ara Maeva Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board Nga Atua Hou Regional Facilities Auckland Resene Paints (Onehunga) Shane Maclean Tana Rakena Teachers & Parents from Māngere Bridge School The 312 Hub Triple Teez Waipuna Hotel
AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL WHĀNUI TEAM Dolina Wehipeihana Eynon Delamare
Ngatapa Black Noma Sio-Faiumu
Whānui is supported by Foundation North & Creative New Zealand