Exhibitions
Events
On display
Encountering Aotearoa: In Conversation
Cora-Allan Encountering Aotearoa 2023 (detail of installation view, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2023). Cora-Allan’s sketch books and travel journals. Photo: Justin Spears.
Talk
Past event
Meet in the exhibition
Free
On the opening day of Cora-Allan: Encountering Aotearoa, enjoy a discussion between artist Cora-Allan (Ngāpuhi, Ngātitumutumu, Niue - Alofi, Liku) and Te Papa's curator mātauranga Māori Isaac Te Awa (Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, Ngāpuhi).
In this major body of new work, Cora-Allan reflects on her recent two-week voyage by sea around Aotearoa, from the bottom of Te Waipounamu to Te Tai Tokerau in the north. Using whenua-pigment, hiapo and other resources from the ngahere, she documented the shapes and views of the whenua of Aotearoa from the perspective of the moana. Encountering Aotearoa builds on Cora-Allan’s research into the artists and botanists aboard the Endeavour during its maiden voyage in 1769, responding to the legacy of colonial mapping and recording practices and early encounters between Māori and Pākehā.
Related
Exhibition
Cora-Allan: Encountering Aotearoa
A major body of new work that considers the whenua from the vantage point of the moana.
Commentary
Encountering Aotearoa: Whenua, Place and Practice
I stand staring at a painting of Motupōhue Bluff Hill. Being from the far south myself, its shape is instantly recognisable, its silhouette painted in vibrant colours that mirror the way light reflects on the real Motupōhue. The paint used to create this familiar scene is made from whenua, and includes pukepoto, the rich blue pigment that comes from the land near the hill: my whenua. There’s a resonance between the work and its materials that makes it special, layered with connections that reflect my own identity and experiences, reaffirming memories and a sense of belonging.
Commentary
Whenua is a Portal
Manawa mai tēnei i Ahuone mai
Manawa mai tēnei i whenuatia
Manawa mai tēnei he kapunga oneone
Tēnei te mauri
o Papatūānuku,
o Tūparimaunga,
o Parawhenuamea,
o Ukurangi
E whakaata mai nei e
Kōkiri!