Tia Barrett
Aotearoa New Zealand, b.1988
Ngāi Tahu,
Ngāti Maniapoto,
Waikato,
Ngati Tamainupō,
Māori
A Time Capsule of Aroha
- 2023
- Digital photograph
- Purchased 2026
- 730 x 965mm
- 2026/003
Tags: birds (animals), clocks, elderly, fans (equipment), fireplaces, flags, flowers (plants), interior, magnifying glasses, Māori (culture or style), mirrors, newspapers, patterns (design elements), people (agents), photographs, prayers, teams, television receivers, watches, whales, women (female humans), words
Taniwha are often invoked to describe the characteristics and abilities of certain people, and sometimes tīpuna are referred to as taniwha themselves. The phrase ‘he taniwha hikuroa’, for example, can describe a leader with a large following and a lasting legacy. This tender portrait of the artist’s grandmother Ruby Rangiwhakahaere Ngahere Barrett (Waikato, Ngāti Tamainupō) surrounded by pictures and taoka that tell of a full life, gestures to this legacy and to the aroha and respect we hold for our tīpuna taniwha. Whaea Ruby lived next to the Waipā awa where the taniwha Waiwaiā resides. The significance of Waiwaiā is captured in the whakataukī: Ko te mauri, ko te waiora o te Waipā ko Waiwaiā.
(Whāia te Taniwha, 2025)
Glossary:
tīpuna - ancestors
he taniwha hikuroa - a taniwha with a long tail
taoka - treasures, items of cultural value
aroha - love, affection
whaea - term of respect for a female meaning aunty or mother
awa - river
whakataukī - Māori proverb
Ko te mauri, ko te waiora o te Waipā ko Waiwaiā - the essence and wellbeing of the Waipā is Waiwaiā
Exhibition History
