The Beauty of Invisible Grief

Kua whai tohu a Jasmine Te Hira ki te hanga whakapīwari, toi whakanikoniko hoki. Kei te kimi ia i ngā huarahi kē atu hei whakapuaki i tō tātou honotanga piritata ki ngā tikanga whakarākei. I roto i tēnei ataata kiritangata kei te mau i a ia tētahi rākeitanga whaiaro ki tōna kakī. Kua hangaia mai i te wai o tōna awa, e pātata nei ki Te Hokianga, ā, kua tio hei āhuahanga hei tiki. Ko te kēkerewai me te mamae tārū o te tio ki runga i ngā kiri, koia te whakaatanga o te mamae e ngau ai te tangata i mahue mai i te taonga o te mate. Nā te mahana o te tinana, ka āta heke ngā roimata ki te uma o Te Hira. Kei te tuhia te ngarotanga ki runga i te tinana, kei te hopukia tērā āhuatanga e te kāmera mō ake ake ake.

Ko tā te whakatū i te mata ki raro iho i te kēhi whakaatuatu he tauākī mō ngā tikanga me ngā mahi nō mua noa atu a ngā kohinga hītori i ngā whare pupuri taonga, nā rātou i whakatū ārai ki waenga i ngā taonga me ōna hapori. Ko tāna e whakaatu nei, he wawata kia mahana ai te taonga – te mea e taea ai te whakapā, te mea tē taea te whakapā – kia ora ai te mauri.

A trained jewellery and applied arts maker, Jasmine Te Hira explores our intimate relationship with adornment. In this video portrait the ornament around her neck is made from water collected from her awa (river), near the Hokianga and frozen into a hei tiki form. The numbness and pain of ice on skin recalls the loss of material knowledge. Warmed by contact, the hei tiki slowly weeps onto Te Hira’s chest. Its loss is documented on the body and in perpetuity by the camera.

Presenting the screen under the vitrine directly comments on museum collection histories and practices that have created barriers between taonga (treasures) and their communities. It reflects a desire to keep taonga – tangible and intangible – warm and to activate their mauri (life force).

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