Kia Tau, Ake Tonu

This poetic painting shows Star Gossage and her daughter at their home in Pākiri, which lies within the rohe of one of their iwi, Ngātiwai. The title, Kia Tau, Ake Tonu, can be translated as ‘forever calm’ or ‘let there be calm, forever’. It underscores the sense of serenity and security evoked by the work, in which the whenua wraps the figures like a cloak.

Gossage has used earth pigments in this painting, quite literally incorporating the land into its fabric. The kete at left can be read as a symbol of the interweaving of people, place, and culture. The vessel is shown empty, perhaps ready to be filled with all the good things that the earth brings to those who respect and tend her.