IRA
Stevei Houkāmau 19 October – 16 November 2024
Installation view
Represents the beginning of everything, but also can be seen as the beginning of a thought, an idea etc.
The top pattern represents the Atua and the bottom and the inbetween is the realm of potential
She is the daughter of Hinenuitepō, when Hinenui was Hinetītama and became Hinenuitepo she chooses Hinerauwhārangi to be the guardian of daylight/light.
Hinenuitepō is the atua of the underworld or darkness, however she is also resilient, able to adapt and pivot and make good, she is the atua that guides you into Rarohenga.
This piece is the Orator the scribe the collector and orator of all things. The carvings on the outside are like music that when prompted will tell you the korero it holds.
This ipu represents the underworld, the muka represents the strands that connect the underworld to Te Ao Marama, the feathers represent the manu that whispers messages between the two realms.
This is a pou that represents my whakapapa.
First Ira Tangata [human], mankind, the markings are kōrero of how she came to be is on the top and bottom while the middle is untouched. Indication of just being formed and a lifetime ahead of her..... the void or ultimate potential.
The atua/goddess of daylight.
These taonga are the taonga of Hinenuitepō but also made from the skin of Hinenuitepō. Within the works there is the 3 chevron that rep past (muka) present (more modern kowhaiwhai) and the future (kowhaiwhai without any pattern work in the negative space.
Representing the past.
Representing the present.
Rrepresenting the future.
Lost traditions of our ancestors, acknowledging and speaking to traditions and korero lost that are being revived. This piece is a reimagined Hei/Lei out of uku kākano rather than seeds or shells.
This wall piece shows Maui crawling out/emerging of Rarohenga.
Stevei Houkāmau (Ngāti Porou, Te Whanau a Apanui, Rangitane) is a fulltime uku artist who lives and works within the Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington Region. She has worked with clay since 2011, preferencing uku because of its ability to convey our links to the geological and spiritual past – uniting tāngata, tūpuna, and whenua, while speaking to the critical connection tangata whenua have to place and earth.