CULTURAL ID; Marae, Maunga, Motu

These three bold and monumental canvas panels are Emily Karaka’s largest and most ambitious painting installation to date. CULTURAL ID; Marae, Maunga, Motu, 2020 recalls the place and role of mana whenua iwi (tribes) within Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland. Mana whenua are tribal groups that have territorial rights and cultural authority over land, rivers and harbours and in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland there are numerous recognised iwi that lay claim to this authority. 

Karaka asserts connection to a number of mana whenua iwi and these paintings depict the maunga (mountains), marae (communal sites) and motu (islands) that make up her tribal footprint and cultural identity to the region. With vibrant colour, energetic paint gestures and bold symbolism, Karaka declares and reclaims territory through her art making. Along the North atrium stairwell wall runs an installation of stones gathered from Motutapu island which symbolically represent ahi kā or the burning fires of occupation, continuous occupation and the red line of raupatu – confiscated tribal lands.

Karaka’s art practice has been centred around Te Tiriti of Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) as the founding document and base of legislation and government in Aotearoa New Zealand. CULTURAL ID; Marae, Maunga, Motu reiterates the importance of tino rangatiratanga (Māori self-determination) and the act of sovereignty in shaping life today and the futures of the mokopuna (grandchildren) of tomorrow.

 

Ko ēnei rīanga kānawehi kaitā muramura e toru, ko te hanganga peita rahi rawa atu, te mahi toi māia rawa atu, a Emily Karaka. Ko tā CULTURAL ID; Marae, Maunga, Motu, 2020, he titiro ki te mana me te kaupapa o ngā iwi mana whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau. Ko ngā iwi mana whenua he iwi e whai mana, e whai tūrangawaewae i ō rātou whenua, i ō rātou awa, i ō rātou wahapū, ā, he maha ngā iwi i Tāmaki Makaurau e mōhiotia ana hei mana whenua o reira.

Kei te whakapapa a Karaka ki ētahi o aua iwi mana whenua, ā, ko te kaupapa o ēnei toi peita ko ngā maunga, ngā marae, ngā moutere, e whakaatu ai i ōna iwi, arā i tōna tuakiri ahurea i taua rohe. Kei te whakamahia e Karaka te tae muramura, te tuone peita hihiko, te tohutanga mātātoa, i tāna mahi toi, hei whakapuaki, hei taumanu i ōna whenua. Kei runga i te pakitara o te arapiki i te Marae Whakateraki he hanganga toka i whakaemihia ai i te moutere o Motutapu; he tohu tērā o te ahi kā, te noho i runga i tērā whenua nō mua noa atu, me te rārangi whero o te raupatu – ngā whenua ā-iwi i raupatuhia ai.

Ko te tino kaupapa o te mahi toi a Karaka ko te Tiriti o Waitangi hei tuhinga tumu, hei pūtake o ngā ture me te kāwanatanga o Aotearoa. Ko tā CULTURAL ID; Marae, Maunga, Motu he whakaatu anō i te whakahirahiratanga o te tino rangatiratanga me te hāngaitanga o te mana motuhake hei tārai i te ao i tēnei wā, i te wāheke, te wā o ā tātou mokopuna.

CULTURAL ID; Marae, Maunga, Motu is one of the works in Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art. Click here to learn more about the full exhibition. 

 

Artwork credit: Emily Karaka, CULTURAL ID; Marae, Maunga, Motu 2020, commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2020, supported by the Auckland Contemporary Art Trust