Homage to Eiffel

Para Matchitt studied carving under the tutelage of the renowned Pine Taiapa and has become one of the most successful contemporary Māori artists. His art calls upon all aspects of his heritage and transforms it into a powerful and symbolic vision.

Like the very finest Māori sculptors of the past, Matchitt has a personal style that is uniquely his own. His sculpture is strongly architectural and has the sense of everyday engineering. Matchitt frequently employs the haate, a heart-shaped Ringatu symbol derived from Māori Christianity, as a potent means of expressing love's positive contribution to society. In fact, the heart has been a major emblem throughout his career.

The title celebrates one of the engineering triumphs of the 19th century, an iron tower built for the International Exposition of Paris in 1889, commemorating the centenary of the French revolution. Since then, the Eiffel tower has become a symbol of love, romance and intellectual engineering French-style.

By using a tower that looks very like a power pylon from the national electrical grid, Matchitt utilises a physical image of the tall tower in the landscape, which is known to all New Zealanders who have travelled along State Highway One. (Sea Knowing and Island Looking, 2002)

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