He Kuru Pounamu

Jen continues her exploration of Kāi Tahu narratives and relationships to whenua in her moving and delicate contribution to Whāia te Taniwha. Entitled Noti Raureka: Niho Taniwha the work draws inspiration from the navigational prowess and strength of Kāti Wairaki wahine Raureka, who carried pounamu as she traversed Kā Tiritiri- o-te-Moana Southern Alps. While delicate flowers of the alpine cushion plant invite a close engagement with the work, the mountain forms reminiscent of niho taniwha also ask us to step back to gain a different perspective and appreciate the ways in which ancestral stories are held and recorded in the landscape. Jen’s work prompts us to recognise and contemplate the journeys and expertise of tūpuna, and to reflect on the importance of place names that record their feats and experiences too.

This work also demonstrates Jen’s preferred style of working on heavy furnishing fabric and exhibiting her paintings unstretched and attached directly to the wall. Allowing her works, both large and smaller scale, to fall freely rather than be confined by the more rigid structure of the traditionally framed painting creates a different kind of kōrero between the work and the site that holds it. In addition, pieces of pounamu that Jen has collected during her many visits to Te Tai Poutini and her walks along the awa are shown here as part of the whakapapa of the work and as another reminder of the way in which narratives pertaining to place are held, maintained, stored and shared.

Jen is one of several Kāi Tahu artists commissioned to create new works for Whāia te Taniwha and this is the first time her work has been included in an exhibition at the Gallery.