Reconstituting the constitution, tea anyone?

Ko tā *Reconstituting the constitution, tea anyone?*, 2012 he whakaatu i ngā mea nō ngā wā huhua o te hitori koroniara i Aotearoa. He kapu, he hoeha, he papakupu reo Ingarihi, he tēpu kawhe (mā te tangata kotahi), he tūru – he tohu ēnei mō te kōrerotanga e pā ana ki te kotahitanga ā-motu, ki te tino rangatiratanga. Kua peitahia ēnei mea katoa ki te hoahoa o te haki Tino Rangatiratanga, he tohu rongonui mō te ātetetanga me te aumangea o te Māori e whai ana i te tino rangatiratanga me te mana motuhake.

Nā Hiraina Marsden, rātou ko Jan Dobson ko Linda Munn te haki Tino Rangatiratanga i hoahoa i te tau 1989. Ko te pango o te haki ko Te Kore, ko te wāhi kei tua o te mahi māori i tēnei ao; ko te mā ko Te Ao Mārama; ko te whero ko te orokohanga o te ao, ko Papatūānuku hoki; ko te koru mā kei waenganui he tohutoro i te māroharoha, i te whakahoutanga, o te tauoranga. Ko Munn anake te morehu o ngā kaihoahoa; ko ia te kaitiaki o te tūturutanga me te whakamahinga o te haki. Ko tāna peita i taua hoahoa ki runga i ēnei mea, kua nanao e ia te mana ki te tautohu – e ai ki taua ringa toi ‘he whakakoroniara i te kaiwhakakoroniara’. Ko tā te hanganga a Munn he whakamahi i ēnei mea nō te kaupapa koroniaratanga hei hanga i te kōrerohanga hou.

*Reconstituting the constitution, tea anyone?*, 2012 presents an array of objects from across various eras of Aotearoa’s colonial history. The china tea cup and saucer, English dictionary, small coffee table (for one) and chair represent a discussion about nationhood and sovereignty. These objects are all painted in the design of the Tino Rangatiratanga flag, which is a profound symbol of Māori resistance and resilience in the quest for sovereignty and self-determination.

Hiraina Marsden, Jan Dobson and Linda Munn created the Tino Rangatiratanga flag in 1989. In it, black represents Te Kore (the void), the space beyond the world of everyday experience; white Te Ao Mārama (the world of light); red, coming into being and life, and Papatūānuku (mother earth); and the white koru (spiral, symbolising an unfurling fern frond) in the centre suggests the unfolding and renewal of life. Munn is the only living designer and kaitiaki (guardian) of the flag’s integrity and use. In painting its design on these items she reclaims the power to define – an act of ‘colonising the coloniser’, as the aritst has described. Munn’s installation takes control of these objects of colonisation, and directs a new conversation.

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