Group exhibition ushers in one year anniversary of the Wairau Māori Art Gallery, honours history of Whangārei
‘Te Whanga A Reipae’ will feature six Māori artists who are making a significant impact here in Aotearoa and abroad. The upcoming March exhibition at the Wairau Māori Art Gallery will also mark one year of operation for the world’s first public Māori art gallery.
“A whare for our culture has been open one year. This is a cultural whare for all Māori and indigenous peoples and national and international audiences. In 2022 - a year disrupted by the pandemic and vengeful storms – our exhibitions showcased high-quality contemporary art by Māori artists, Māori designers and Māori curators.” Chair Elizabeth Ellis (CNZM).
This exhibition will be the inaugural curatorial debut of Ngahuia Harrison, the first wahine curator for Wairau Māori Art Gallery.
“This being my first curatorial experience in a public gallery speaks to the exciting model that Wairau Māori Art Gallery represents, a model of trust and uplifting. This model genuinely makes way for Māori, especially younger Māori, to have a go in spaces we don't often get opportunities” says Harrison.
“I'm excited for 'Te Whanga a Reipae' because it draws on local history at an exciting time when the importance of New Zealand's history is being recognised. The story of Reitū and Reipae, as well as other kōrero tuku iho, are the histories of Aotearoa – the first histories of this place. This history occurred long before the idea of 'New Zealand.' ”
The exhibition draws on the strength of ‘whakapapa’ as the connector of people in te ao Māori. A shift away from more recent usage whereby land is understood as something that divides us. This conversation has become common through the recent focus on Treaty Settlements, but 'Te Whanga a Reipae' pivots from that kōrero and looks at the ways that whakapapa has always connected us, today and mai rānō.
The kōrero tuku iho, so important to Whangārei, of the Tainui tūpuna Reitū and Reipae and their marriages into Northland - recognises the connection between the North and Tainui because of these wāhine. That history is the is the invitation to artists who whakapapa to Te Taitokerau and/or Tainui waka, and whose practices in different ways draw upon the notion of whakapapa.
Artists:
Jeremy Leatinu’u
(Ngāti Maniapoto, Sāmoa)
Tracy Keith
(Ngāpuhi)
Amorangi Hikuroa
(Ngapuhi, Ngati Maniapoto, Ngati Toro, Tepopoto oku Iwi)
Raukura Turei
(Ngā Rauru Kītahi and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki)
Aroha Gossage
(Ngātiwai, Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Ruanui, France, Portugal)
Star Gossage
(Ngātiwai, Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Ruanui, France, Portugal)
The story of Reitu and Reipae
There are many versions of the following story with details changed. But the threads of the story of Reitu and Reipae are similar throughout.
Reitu and Reipae were twin sisters from the Waikato region. These young, high-born women came from a powerful tribe. One day they and their people received visitors from the far north. Among them was the handsome young chieftain Ueoneone.
He and his people hoped for a marriage with the twin sisters, strengthening tribal alliances. After days of discussion the elders of both parties agreed a marriage would take place. Reitu and Reipae argued with each other against sharing Ueoneone as their husband. The day came for the visitors to return home. Ueoneone promised to send his special messenger to collect the girls and bring them north for their impending marriage.
Soon a bird, a kārearea (falcon) arrived. The bird announced it had come for the sisters. Inviting them to climb upon its back, the bird flew northward. The sisters were still arguing when Reipae overheard Reitu make scathing remarks about her. This caused Reipae to give up her quest for the handsome Ueoneone. Feigning illness, Reipae directed the bird to land at the beach beneath them. When it did she alighted, telling her companions to continue without her. Here she waited for their people travelling across the land with their brothers Te Kanapuiterangi and Kairangatira. This event is remembered in the name Whangārei; Ko Te Tauwhanga a Reipae mō ōnā Tūngane mō Te Kanapuiterangi raua ko Kairangatira: The Waiting Place of Reipae for her brothers Te Kanapuiterangi and Kairangatira.
Reipae eventually married a local chieftain Tāhūhūpōtiki. All the hapu (tribes) of Whangārei Te Terenga Parāoa can claim descent from this union.
[NH1]I started changing this a little, and realised it came from the WDC website. Is it all right to use their content word-for-word? Or should it be re-written?