B.
KO WAI KOE?
Behind the scenes
On this day in 1987, the Maori Language Act came into force, making te reo Māori an official language of New Zealand.
Ralph Hotere Drawing (KO WAI KOE?) 1977. Lacquer, ink, pencil. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, purchased. 1978. Reproduced courtesy of Ralph Hotere
This dark, richly marked drawing by Ralph Hotere from a decade asks: Tenei taku manu te rere atu nei – he karere – no Te whitinga mai o te ra. Pataia mai – i ahu mai koe i hea? KO WAI KOE. (This is my bird that flies to you – a messenger from where the sun rises. It asks from where have you come? WHO ARE YOU?)
Related
Collection
Ralph Hotere Drawing (Ko Wai Koe?)
Ko Wai Koe? Ralph Hotere asks ‘who are you?’ in large stencilled letters at the bottom of this drawing. The artist has also inscribed the top and side of the drawing with Tenei taku manu te rere atu nei – he karere – no Te whitinga mai o te ra. Pataia mai – i ahu mai koe i hea? (This is my bird that flies to you – a messenger from where the sun rises. It asks from where have you come?) Dense ink and lacquer saturate the work like black raindrops, soaking through the paper and providing an impenetrable surface over which Hotere has worked; his intense graphite mark-making has a subtle reflective quality depending on the light. Hotere has embraced the use of diecuts, such as the small square void amongst graphite marks that allows the surface beneath to emerge. (Die Cuts and Derivations, 11 March – 2 July 2023)