Seeing Moana Oceania

Why do we use ‘Moana Oceania’ and not ‘Pacific’? The name Pacific was given to this region by a Portuguese explorer almost 500 years ago and, with its transliteration Pasifika, is still used. In Aotearoa New Zealand and other island nations, such as the Cook Islands, Hawai’i, Sāmoa and Tonga, ‘moana’ means ocean or vast space. For this reason it has relevance for Aotearoa New Zealand – an island nation with ancestral links to the wider Moana. Oceania is also a foreign name, first popularised in the early 19th century, and is today a common alternative for Pacific because it suggests a sea of islands connected to each other. The phrase ‘Moana Oceania’, then, empowers and privileges Indigenous perspectives, which are strongly connected to Aotearoa and share roots with the wider Moana Oceania.

Paul Tangata, of Cook Islands heritage, and Teuane Tibbo, of Sāmoan heritage, were the first Moana Oceania artists to exhibit frequently in Auckland. In the generations since their pioneering work, this city has become home to many more artists and their creativity has become one this region’s emblems and helped shaped our region’s identity. Seeing Moana Oceania presents key works by artists who affirm their diverse Moana Oceania cultures within contemporary art practice. These artists look forward in time to a culturally rich and diverse Aotearoa New Zealand.

He Kitenga Aumoana: He ngaru hou

He aha e kii ai te kōrero ‘Moana Oceania’, auare ake te kupu ‘Pacific’? Ka tapaina tōna ingoa Pacific ki te takiwā nei e tētahi kaihōpara nō Pōtukihi, ahakoa kua taka te rima rau tau, ka kiia tonutia tōna ingoa whakawhiti ‘Pasifika’. I Aotearoa Niu Tīreni, me ngā moutere o te Moana nui a Kiwa, arā, ko Ngā Kuki Airini, ko Hawai’i, ko Hāmoa me Tonga, he ōrite tonu te whakamārama o te kupu ‘moana’ i waenganui i ēnei iwi katoa. Nā konā, he mea nui ki Aotearoa Niu Tīreni – arā he whenua kura e whakapapa ana ki ngā moutere maha o te Moana nui a Kiwa. Waihoki, he tauhou te ingoa ‘Oceania’, ka rongonuitia tuatahitia i te timatanga o te rau tau 19th, i ēnei rā kua rata ake tēnā i te ingoa Pacific, nā te mea, e kōreronui ana te ingoa ‘Oceania’ mō te tātai hono o ngā moutere katoa.Nā konā, ko te rerenga kōrero ‘Moana Oceania’ tētahi kōrero e mana ai te iwitaketaketanga o te whakaaro, me te tūhonohono o Aotearoa ki ngā iwi taketake puta noa i te whānuitanga o Moana Oceania.

Ko Paul Tangata nō Kuki Airini, rāuatahi ko Teuane Tibbo nō Hāmoa ngā ringatoi tuatahi o Moana Oceania i whakaatu anō ai i Ākarana. Mai rā anō i para ai te huarahi, kua huri tēnei taonenui hei tūrangawaewae mō te tini me te mano o ngā ringatoi, ka whakanuia ō rātou auahatanga hei tohu whakatamarahi, hei tārai i te tuakiritanga o te wāhi nei. Ko He Kitenga Aumoana: He ngaru hou ka whārikihia ngā mahi toi a ngā ringa toi ko rātou anō e whakanui ana i te kanorau o Moana Oceania i roto i ngā mahi toi hou. Ka anga whakamua ngā ringa toi nei ki tētahi wā heke, ko Aotearoa Niu Tīreni tētahi whenua whakaaro nui ki ngā tikanga o tēna o tēnā iwi.