Ripeka Kōwhai

Nā te whāwhā i te aho me te whakaata kei te ketuketu te raupapatanga *Ripeka* a Robert Jahnke i ngā kōrero me ngā whakaahua mō te hanganga o te ao e ai ki te Māori. Kei te tirohia e *Ripeka Kahurangi*, 2015 te kōrero hanganga Māori, arā a Te Kore, ko tā *Ripeka Whero*, 2015, ko tā *Ripeka Kōwhai*, 2015 he kawe i ngā whakaaro mō Te Pō, mō Te Ao Mārama.

E ai ki te Māori ko ēnei he kōrero mutunga kōrero e whakamārama ai i tō tātou tūrangawaewae i tēnei ao, i tēnei ao tukupū. E ai ki a Robert Jahnke ko te whakapapa te pūnaha mutunga kē mai o te raupapa Māori, ā, he kārangarangatanga i te kaupapa Māori mō te wā haere ake nei, haere ake nei, ka mutu, pērā i ngā whakaatanga a roto, kua tuwhera te ao mutunga kore. Kitea ai i roto i ēnei mahi ngā āhuatanga o ngā mahi a Paolo Scirpa (nō Itāria), a Ivan Navarro (nō Hire), he tikanga toi whāwhā i te aho me te whakaata kei roto i ā rāua tāraitanga.

Robert Jahnke’s *Ripeka* series delves into Māori creation narratives and prophetic imagery through manipulating light and reflection. *Ripeka Kahurangi*, 2015 explores the Māori creation narrative of Te Kore (the great nothingness), while *Ripeka Whero*, 2015 and *Ripeka Kōwhai*, 2015 convey ideas in relation to Te Pō (the great darkness) and Te Ao Mārama (the world of light and life).

For Māori these are timeless narratives that discuss and locate our place in the world, in the order of things. Robert Jahnke reflects on whakapapa (genealogy) as the ultimate Māori system of order while also echoing the Māori philosophical concept of continuous time and, like the mirrored reflections they present, infinite possibilities. The works are influenced by the artists Paolo Scirpa (Italian) and Ivan Navarro (Chilean) whose sculptures use light and reflection techniques.

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