Te Ohanga Ake is a PHD exegesis exhibition describing visually, intergenerational knowledge exchange through Māori fibre arts.
Te Kanawa, based in Te Kuiti, acknowledges her mother Diggeress Te Kanawa and her kia, Rangimarie Hetet as her primary sources of knowledge and innovation. Te Kanawa remembers on of her mum’s says that epitomises her weaving process. “Mum always said this to our whānau…”
“Tō tātou waka, ko te rangimārie, te hoe o runga, te puna o te aroha e!”
“Our waka is the waka of peace, the paddle that propels us forward is the source of love from above!”
Te Ohonga Ake is an exquisite collection of kete, kākahu, pot, whāriki, tīpare, tukutuku, piupiu and kono, created between 1970 and today. The extensive grouping of taonga on display accentuates Te Kanawa’s development of her own creative processes and innovations.
The highlight within the collection of work is Te Kanawa’s personal challenge to re-create a pūkoro based on a taonga from the Otago Museum Collection.
“This was something that caught my eye. I was drawn not only to its weave and use, but I wanted to disparage its description given by an early European who tossed it aside as a rag!”
In addition to Te Kanawa’s own work, she has included some beautiful taonga created by her mother, grandmother and great grandmother, some of which they worked on together as a whānau.
“Mum and Nana, always said to me as we were working together – let your mahi speak for you”
This exhibition does just that. It shares the exchange that happens between whānau members when working in and sharing the intricacies of traditional art forms and processes. Mauri ora!
