Te Kiri o Hinekai

Ko te hātepe auaha a Natalie Couch he mihi ki ōna tīpuna. He huarahi tēnei ki te pupuri i te mana wairua o tōna tūrangawaewae; kei te mōhio ki te tūkinotanga ki te whenua i ngā rā o mua, ā, kei te tāpaehia ngā ata mō te whakahoutanga o taua whenua ā ngā tau e heke mai nei.

Kei roto i *Te Kiri o Hinekai*, 2011 me *Wairākei*, 2018, ngā whenua ngāwhā o te rohe puia o Taupō. Mā te whakaapaapa i te hoahoa me te kakano manganga, kei te mīharotia te mana nui o ēnei wāhi i runga i te wairua turua mutunga kore. Ko tā ēnei mahi toi e rua he mōteatea, he pohewa. Ahakoa te pēhanga o te whenua me ōna waiora, ma te mauri ora e whakarauora te whārua o Te Wairoa.

Natalie Couch’s creative process acknowledges her tīpuna (ancestors), upholding the spiritual integrity of her tūrangawaewae (ancestral lands) by recognising the land’s enduring historical damage and offering images for its future regeneration.

The geothermal lands of the Taupō volcanic region are seen in *Te Kiri o Hinekai*, 2011 and *Wairākei*, 2018. Through layers of intricate patterning and texture, the sacred nature of these places is ethereal and timeless. Together, these two works offer a lament and a dreamscape. Amid the suppression of the land and its healing waters is its life-force that will restore the Waiora Valley.

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