Bridget Reweti Ziarah 2018. HD digital video; duration 10 mins. Courtesy of the artist. Made with support from Circuit Artist Film and Video Aotearoa New Zealand, Asia New Zealand Foundation and Cemeti Institute for Art and Society Jogjakarta, Indonesia.
This exhibition is now closed
Ziarah is an Arabic word that refers to an ancestral or spiritual pilgrimage to a gravesite. Developed while artist Bridget Reweti was on residency in the Indonesian city of Jogjakarta, this work traces her attempt to find the unmarked graves of navigator Tupaia and his nephew and apprentice Taiata on nearby Damar Besar Island.
Local Betawi artist and fisher Safir Islami narrates, describing his environmental concerns for the area, his own relationship with the ocean and how he imagines Tupaia may have felt here, far from his home in Tahiti.
Tupaia and Taiata boarded the HMS Endeavour in Tahiti and sailed to Aotearoa in 1769. Tupaia’s diplomatic skill and ability to converse with Māori was instrumental in de-escalating violence from the Endeavour’s crew toward Māori, and warning oncoming waka taua (war canoes) about the gunpowder on board. In Indonesia late the following year, after a bout of serious illness on the ship, Tupaia and Taiata died only a few days apart.
Guided by translator Edwina Brennan and local fishers, Bridget reaches their resting place. Through shared knowledge and navigation, Ziarah reframes a story that is often dominated by the Endeavour and instead shows us a meaningful relationship between Tupaia, Māori and the waters that connect across time and place.
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Date:
7 July – 23 October 2023 -
Curator:
Jane Wallace -
Exhibition number:
1164
Related reading: Video art
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Collection
Bridget Reweti 4902 VISTA VOLLEY
Part of a series called Summering on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, these photographs were made by Bridget Reweti in response to another photographic series, Wintering on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, made by Ōtepoti Dunedin photographer Alfred Burton in 1889. Travelling to the same remote locations he photographed 120 years previously, Bridget reclaimed them through a different lens, one informed by the awareness that these site hold significance and memories for the mana whenua, Ngāi Tahu. She hand-coloured each photograph with whenua (earth) given to her by locals in each location, reconnecting her images with the experience of being present in the land, rather than ‘snapped and trapped’ views, separated from their physical and cultural context.
(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )
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Bridget Reweti 4893 DREAM GOOD DREAMS
Part of a series called Summering on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, these photographs were made by Bridget Reweti in response to another photographic series, Wintering on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, made by Ōtepoti Dunedin photographer Alfred Burton in 1889. Travelling to the same remote locations he photographed 120 years previously, Bridget reclaimed them through a different lens, one informed by the awareness that these site hold significance and memories for the mana whenua, Ngāi Tahu. She hand-coloured each photograph with whenua (earth) given to her by locals in each location, reconnecting her images with the experience of being present in the land, rather than ‘snapped and trapped’ views, separated from their physical and cultural context.
(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )
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Bridget Reweti 4877 NO BAD ANGLES
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(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )
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Bridget Reweti 4870 LIVING THE DREAM
Part of a series called Summering on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, these photographs were made by Bridget Reweti in response to another photographic series, Wintering on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, made by Ōtepoti Dunedin photographer Alfred Burton in 1889. Travelling to the same remote locations he photographed 120 years previously, Bridget reclaimed them through a different lens, one informed by the awareness that these site hold significance and memories for the mana whenua, Ngāi Tahu. She hand-coloured each photograph with whenua (earth) given to her by locals in each location, reconnecting her images with the experience of being present in the land, rather than ‘snapped and trapped’ views, separated from their physical and cultural context.
(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )
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Bridget Reweti 4860 SATURATED IN SCENERY
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(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )
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Bridget Reweti 4851 WAIT TILL HE BRINGS YOU RABBITS
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(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )
Collection
Bridget Reweti 4839 JUST NEED TO GO A BIT FASTER
Part of a series called Summering on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, these photographs were made by Bridget Reweti in response to another photographic series, Wintering on Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, made by Ōtepoti Dunedin photographer Alfred Burton in 1889. Travelling to the same remote locations he photographed 120 years previously, Bridget reclaimed them through a different lens, one informed by the awareness that these site hold significance and memories for the mana whenua, Ngāi Tahu. She hand-coloured each photograph with whenua (earth) given to her by locals in each location, reconnecting her images with the experience of being present in the land, rather than ‘snapped and trapped’ views, separated from their physical and cultural context.
(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )
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Bridget Reweti 4836 SPOT ON
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(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )
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