Te Huringa/
Turning Points

Pākehā Colonisation
and Māori Empowerment

Presented with the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua

Curators’ Statement

The following curators’ statement comes from the catalogue for this exhibition, which is available online. Most of the artwork pages include two texts, reflecting the curatorial approach taken.

 

Encounters between people of different cultural backgrounds always provide opportunities for ongoing critical engagement. In Aotearoa/New Zealand such early encounters had repercussions that remain with us today. Artists brought, innocently or not, their own cultural baggage to their subject matter. One such example is Francis Dillon Bell’s New Zealand Bush c.1845 which turns out to be far more than a mere botanical record. This, like so many other paintings included in Te Huringa/Turning Points, can be seen to have multiple and sometimes unexpected additional meanings.

A great many of the works have their origin in deep contention. This resulted from disputes over land that were the inevitable consequence of colonialism. In our time these disputes gave rise to protests including Land Rights hikoi and, more recently, have prompted hopeful participation in partnership deals between Maori and Pakeha. This exhibition provides a huringa, a turning point in our ability to view art critically.

It offers an ideal opportunity to give some emphasis to a Maori viewpoint without excluding non-Maori points of view. This is reflected in two different responses to each work: one Maori, the other Pakeha. If this is seen as controversial we make no apology. It mirrors the complex, convoluted history of race relations in this country. Curatorially, we offer it as a koha towards a more thoughtful engagement with paintings held in the collections of the Fletcher Trust and the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua.

Each work is arranged in a thematic framework, not in an effort to fit it into a rigid category but to suggest pathways for consideration and to provide sometimes unexpected links between paintings which might not otherwise be thought of as connected. Since it first opened at the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua in 2006, Te Huringa has received important and memorable powhiri from tangata whenua. We have been honoured by these events. They encourage and inspire us to continue with the exhibition and the publication of this book. Nga mihi mahana mo enei tautoko.

— Jo Diamond (JD) and Peter Shaw (PS), co-curators

Anei Te Whakaaro

Te Huringa—he taonga hoki. Ahakoa kei te tika, kei te hē rānei, i puta mai i ngā whakaahua o ngā wā o nehe he tirohanga Pākehā ki ngā tīpuna Māori. Ki te Māori o tēnei wā, nā te kitenga o ngā iwi i ngā mahi peita, ka kitea te kāwai o ō rātou tīpuna. Ā, nā te ohorere, nā te aronganui hoki e pā ana ki te aroha, ki te mamae, ki te koa, ki te pōuri, ki te maumahara, ka heke mai ngā roimata me te hūpē i ngā whakatuwheratanga o tēnei whakaaturanga i ia rohe tae atu ki tēnei wā.

Te Huringa—ko te mauri, ko te mamaetanga, ko te harikoa. Koinei ētahi o ngā kare ā-roto ka puta mai i ngā tohunga Māori kua ruia, kua tuia hei kitenga mā te katoa i te rerekētanga o ō rātou whakaaro, hiahia, āwangawanga ki ngā tāngata pūkenga Pākehā o mua. He tika, e kore te ao e tū tonu. Kei te hurihuri. Me pēhea hoki hei āpōpō?

Me mihi ki a Tā James Fletcher, nāna te moemoeā mo ēnei whakaahua. I mate rā ia i tērā tau. Nō reira, haere atu koe, koutou katoa hoki. He tangi atu ki a koutou.

Koutou e te hunga ora—haramai koutou ki te titiro, ki te whakaaro, ki te kōrero me pēhea te whakaaturanga nei. He rereke ki ngā tirohanga o ngā tohunga pūkenga o aua wā ki tēnei wā. He rerekē te whakaaro o te Pākehā ki tō te Māori o aua wā, ki ngā mahi hoki o nāianei a te Māori ki te Pākehā. He tika, he rerekē te huarahi—ko Te Huringa.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Nāku nā,

Pere Maitai
Kaitautoko Maori

Section 01

 

Mana-a-Iwi/Mana of the People

ANGAS, George French;

Ngātata, Chief of Kumutoto and Father of Wī Tako

1844, 325 x 230mm, Watercolour on paper

ANGAS, George French;

E Rangi and E Tohi, Girls of Port Nicholson, with Kiko, an Old Woman of Tiakiwai

c.1844, 190 x 230mm, Watercolour on paper

MERRETT, Joseph Jenner;

Hōne Heke and His Wife Harriet with Four Attendants

c.1845, 270 x 220mm, Watercolour on paper

MERRETT, Joseph Jenner;

Four Māori Girls and a Young Māori Man

c.1845, 270 x 205mm, Watercolour on paper

OLIVER, Richard Aldworth;

Te Rangihaeata, Chief of Ngāti Toa

c.1850, 470 x 325mm, Watercolour on paper

BARRAUD, Charles Decimus
Te Rangihaeata
c.1850, 662 x 443mm, Watercolour on paper
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

ROBLEY, Horatio Gordon;

Tomika Te Mutu

1866, 285 x 240mm, Watercolour on paper

ATKINSON, Robert;

Portrait of Te Heuheu Tūkino IV, Horonuku

1889, 740 x 580mm, Oil on canvas

ATKINSON, Robert;

Portrait of Te Uira Te Heuheu

1889, 525 x 720mm, Watercolour on paper

GOLDIE, Charles Frederick;

Kapi Kapi or Ahinata Te Rangitautini

1909, 190 x 140mm, Oil on board

GOLDIE, Charles Frederick
Wiripine Ninia – A Ngatiawa Chieftainess
c.1911, 260 x 204mm, Oil on canvas
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

COLLIER, Edith
The Kōrero
c.1927, 810 x 450mm, Oil on canvas
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

Section 02

 

Mana Whenua/Mana of the Land

EARLE, Augustus;

Village of Pakanae, River Hokianga

1838, 228 x 398mm, Hand-coloured lithograph on paper

BELL, Francis Dillon;

New Zealand Bush

c.1845, 442 x 337mm, Watercolour on paper

BLOMFIELD, Charles
Rotokakahi from Kaitereria
1881, 420 x 670mm, Oil on canvas
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

BAKER, William George
Lake Waikare
c.1912, 590 x 890mm, Oil on canvas
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

WRIGHT, Walter;

The Family Gathering

c.1910, 285 x 410mm, Oil on canvas

TOLE, John;

Māori Village, Rotorua

c.1950, 340 x 390mm, Oil on board

CLARK, Russell;

Hokianga Crossroads

c.1951, 560 x 560mm, Oil on canvas

CLARK, Russell;

Sketch for Hokianga Crossroads

c.1951, 180 x 220mm, Ink on paper

DAY, Melvin;

Te Ika a Maru

1981, 1200 x 1500mm, Oil on canvas

ELLIS, Robert;

Rakaumangamanga 19 Māehe 1984

1984, 1600 x 1850mm, Oil on canvas

MURU, Selwyn;

Porirua Hills

1965, 590 x 490mm, Oil on board

DUNNING, William
The Whanganui River 1880, Awhitinui Pā
1994, 884 x 883mm, Pencil and ink wash on paper
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

HIGHT, Michael;

Rangiriri (triptych)

1996, 1500 x 2700mm, Blackboard paint, oil, resin, found canvas and cloth on board

Section 03

 

Taonga/All That Is Valued

DUPERREY, Louis Isidore; CHAZAL, Antoine;

New Zealand: Native House, Plan of the House, Tomb, Carvings

1826, 555 x 340mm, Hand-coloured engraving on paper

CHAZAL, Antoine;

New Zealand: Taonga, Weapons and Implements

1826, 555 x 340mm, Hand-coloured engraving on paper

SUTCLIFFE, J.;

Pahe-a-Range, the New Zealand Chief

c.1850, 380 x 260mm, Lithograph on paper

GILFILLAN, John
Putiki Pa, Whanganui
1847, 560 x 670mm, Watercolour on paper
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

GILFILLAN, John Alexander;

Interior of a Native Village or Pā, in New Zealand

c.1852, 450 x 610mm, Hand-coloured lithograph on paper

KINDER, John;

Te Rapa, Lake Taupō, December 28, 1861: The Scene of Te Heuheu's Death, 1846

c.1886, 210 x 295mm, Watercolour on paper

KINDER, John;

Te Heuheu's Monument, Pūkawa, Lake Taupō, 1861

c.1886, 215 x 273mm, Watercolour on paper

STEELE, Louis James
Haki Ahi, Māori Firestick
1918, 227 x 334mm, Oil on canvas
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

MURU, Selwyn;

Māori Rock Drawing

1966, 605 x 430mm, Ink and watercolour on paper

COTTON, Shane;

Stack

1991, 1830 x 1670mm, Oil on canvas

Section 04

 

Whai Mana/Mana Renewed

ALLOM, Thomas;

Mount Taranaki from the North Shore of Cook Strait, New Zealand

1841, 555 x 777mm, Watercolour on paper

BAXTER, George;

The Reverend J. Waterhouse Superintending the Landing of the Missionaries at Taranaki, New Zealand

1844, 295 x 340mm, Oil print on paper

MERRETT, Joseph Jenner;

The New Zealand Festival

1845, 280 x 870mm, Lithograph on paper

BARRAUD, Charles Decimus;

Māori Race Meeting at the Hui

1878, 771 x 888mm, Watercolour on paper

STACK, Frederick Rice;

View of Auckland Harbour, New Zealand, Taken During the Regatta of January 1862 (The Race of the Māori War Canoes)

1862, Hand-coloured lithograph on paper

CHEVALIER, Nicholas;

Māori Hunting Party, Lake Mavora, Otago

1875, 495 x 750mm, Oil on canvas

WHITING, Cliff
Kōrero
1965, 1003 x 400mm, Bas relief carving
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

WALTERS, Gordon;

Study for Pipitea I

1979, 780 x 585mm, Ink on paper

ROBINSON, Peter;

Untitled

1993, 1015 x 5880mm, Wax, bitumen and oil stick on board

Section 05

 

Whawhai/Protest

BRIDGE, Cyprian;

Battle at Ōhaeawai

c.1845, 460 x 610mm, Oil on canvas

STRUTT, William;

The Ambuscade

1867, 228 x 442mm, Oil on canvas

MCCAHON, Colin;

A Song for Rua, Prophet (triptych)

1979, Acrylic on paper

COTTON, Shane;

The Plant

1995, 1903 x 2750mm, Oil on canvas

NIN, Buck;

Banner Protest

1977, 1335 x 1221mm, Acrylic on board

ADSETT, Sandy
Tane and Tama Uprooted
1985, 1200 x 995mm, Acrylic on canvas
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

KAHUKIWA, Robyn;

Tihe Mauri Ora

1990, 2100 x 3580mm, Oil and alkyd oil on unstretched canvas

PRINCE, Diane;

Odyssey of a Sale

1996, 2475 x 1280mm, Acrylic on unstretched canvas

BARLOW, Isiaha
Mother Emare
2002, 600 x 550 x 220mm, Tempera on MDF board
Collection of Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui

Section 06

 

Te Ao Whānui/In the Wider World

HOTERE, Ralph;

Dawn/Water Poem II

1985, 1810 x 1810mm, Acrylic on unstretched canvas

NICHOLAS, Darcy;

Children of Tāne

1985, 750 x 1010mm, Oil and acrylic on board

FORD, John Bevan;

Combined Energies (Te Aitanga a Kiwa series)

1995, 1050 x 882mm, Coloured inks on Japanese paper

KARAKA, Emily;

Kaitiakitanga: Shield II

1993, 1190 x 810mm, Mixed media on board

KARAKA, Emily;

Kaitiakitanga: Shield I

1993, 1225 x 810mm, Mixed media on board

DOWMAN, Matthew;

Synthesis 1

2004, 2000 x 1665mm, Mixed media on canvas

List of venues

Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui,
8 April to 16 July 2006

Puke Ariki, Ngāmotu New Plymouth,
16 September to 5 November 2006

Hawkes Bay Exhibition Centre, Heretaunga Hastings, 8 December to 11 February 2007

Tairāwhiti Museum, Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa Gisborne, 1 June to 8 July 2007

City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi,
Te Whanganui-a-Tara, 11 August to 4 November 2007

Rotorua Art Gallery, 14 December 2007 to 9 March 2008

Tauranga Art Gallery Toi Tauranga,
11 April to 8 June 2008

Suter Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, Whakatū Nelson,
26 September to 2 November 2008

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, Ōtautahi, 19 December 2008 to 15 February 2009

Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Ōtepoti, 28 February to 19 July 2009

Whangārei Art Museum Te Manawa Toi,
February to May 2010

Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, Kirikiriroa Hamilton, 1 May to 1 September 2010