Matariki show aims to engage

Making Matariki meaningful for all – that’s the aim of guest curator and exhibitor Louise Davis, one of the team behind a month-long show opening at the Depot Artspace in Devonport this Saturday.

The show’s name, Āhuru Mōwai, means a calm and sheltered haven. It draws from the understanding of nurturing human life from the womb on, Davis says.

“It’s making Māori visible to an audience so they have more of an experience of our world,” she says. From this, she hopes greater understanding of the values of Matariki will grow, including caring for the land and each other.

The fibre artist wants gallery visitors to feel at home in the transformed space on Clarence St. “We’ve made a temporary whare to provide a holistic, temporal experience for the audience.”

This involves introducing elements to engage the senses, including plants to see and smell from rongoā Māori kaiako (Māori healing teacher) Judy Henderson, and a soundscape from Murphy Wiperi.

Davis says: “I want it to be an experience for people to walk in and have a feeling of warmth and nourishment and substance.”

Work from 17 contemporary artists forms the exhibition, including from whakairo/master carver Natanahira Pona – a driving force in the growth of Matariki celebrations in the area as well as resident artist at the Lake House Arts Centre – and others from the North Shore, including weaver Kiriana O’Connnell and painter and te moko artist Ben Thomason.

Return appearance... Natanahira

Pona, at the Depot Artspace during last year’s Matariki exhibition, is back with his carving

Davis (Ngati Raukawa ki te Tonga and Ngati Maru ki Hauraki), who was born and raised on the North Shore, is of Māori and Scottish descent.

She was asked by Pona to be involved in the Depot’s Matariki show last year, but was unable to participate then. This year, she got back in touch with him and put up a proposal

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