Tāniko

Ko tā Toi Te Rito Maihi mō tāna tikanga hou e pā ana ki te raranga:

Ki ahau nei ko te raranga he wāhanga nō ngā tauira tauoranga . . . he hāngai inanahi, he hāngai i tēnei rā. [Ko te raranga] te honotanga ki ngā tīpuna, ka mutu nā rātou e pēnei ai te tino pai o tōku tauoranga.

Ko te tāniko he momo raranga ā-matimati e whakamahi ai i te kahuki, i te aho, i te tae, hei hanga i te tauira. Mā ngā tae whakatauaro e hanga haere ai te tauira, heoi i ētahi wā, ka whakamahia tētahi tikanga kē e whakamahi ai i te pango ki runga ake i te pango, ka hua ko ngā nukuhanga tauira tino ngāwari. Ko tētahi anō hua, he hōhonu te pango. Kei te whakataurite a e Rito Maihi i te pango ki runga i te pango ki Te Kore e huri ana ki Te Pō – ka huri ki te wā i mua tonu atu i te putanga o Te Ao Mārama – kei te whakaaturia i konei i roto i te hoahoa pango tāhina-rua o te toi peita nei, ko ngā tohu tapatoru kōwhai te tae wana.

Toi Te Rito Maihi commented on her innovative approach to raranga (weaving):

I see weaving as one facet of the patterns of life . . . as relevant to today’s world as yesterday’s. [Weaving] is the link with the tipuna [ancestors] and, after all, it’s to them I owe the richness of my life.

Tāniko is the Māori finger-weaving technique which uses warps, wefts and colour to create pattern. Contrasting colours is what helps to create the pattern, however at times another technique is used involving stitches of black on black, resulting in subtle pattern shifts. This also produces a depth to the black. Maihi likens black on black to Te Kore (the great nothingness) turning into Te Pō (the perpetual night) – the early movements before Te Ao Mārama (the world of light) emerges, illustrated here in this painting’s two-toned black design and contrasting triangular yellow motifs.

(Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, 2020)

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