Kia Aupikinga te Poukapa

Ko tā Kelcy Taratoa he whakapā atu ki ngā āhuatanga o te ahurea o te marea, o te hangarau, o te paki pohewa pūtaiao, hei whakamārama i ōna wheako matatini hei Māori o te tāonenui. I roto i *Kia Apikinga te Poukapa*, 2019 e kitea ai ngā wāhi hono, ngā wāhi wete e whakatutukihia ana e te hangarau, i roto i te waehere matihiko kua tāngia ki te wāhanga whakarunga o tēnei toi. He whakaeminga tapawhā pango ōrite, he tukutuku te āhua, ānō nei he waehere tāekaeka, he tohu QR rānei kei runga i te mata whaikano. Ka mātaki whakaheke i te peita nō runga ake, ko te whatu o ngā tapawhā kei te hura i tētahi whakatongitanga – he whakaahua kei waenga i te tikiake. Ehara i te mea kua tautuhia taua whakaahua; he ata tārewa kē.

Kelcy Taratoa’s practice draws on popular culture, technology and science fiction to articulate the complexity of his own experiences as an urban Māori. In *Kia Aupikinga te Poukapa*, 2019 points of connection and disconnection are seen in the digital coding embedded across the top section of the work. A configuration of black squares, arranged in a grid-like structure – similar to a barcode or QR code icon – punctuates the coloured surface. Viewing the painting from top to bottom, the interlocking rectangular shapes reveal that a larger pixellation is at play – that the image is caught mid-download. Seen at this moment, the image is not defined, but rather suggests a state of flux.

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