Two shoots that stretch far out

I roto i tēnei whakaari ataata kei te āta taki a Shannon Te Ao i te whakapākehātanga o te waiata ki tētahi kohinga kararehe tae atu ki ngā rāpeti, he kaihe mahira, he warapi, he wāna e moe ana. E rima ngā whakamātau a Te Ao ki te whakapai i te whakapākehātanga o te waiata *He Waiata Mo Te Moe Punarua*, he waiata i titoa ai e Matahira, he uri nō Ngāti Porou. Ko ngā kupu a Matahira, he mōteatea mō te kauawhiawhi kua ngaro atu. Kei te whakapuakina te ngau o te kaikaiwaiū, o te ingoingo, i te rerenga o tāna tāne ki te awhi o tētahi kē. Kitea tuaruatia tēnei kakare i roto i te taitara a te toi, i takea ai i te whakataukī ‘E kimi ana i ngā kāwai i toro ki tawhiti’.

Shannon Te Ao earnestly recites the English translation of a waiata (song) to a menagerie of animals which includes rabbits, a curious donkey, a wallaby and a sleeping swan. Over five takes, Te Ao attempts to refine the translation of ‘He Waiata Mo Te Moe Punarua’ or ‘A Song about Two Wives’, composed by Matahira, of Ngāti Porou. Matahira’s words are a lament for lost intimacy, an expression of the deep feelings of betrayal and longing caused by her husband taking a new lover. This sentiment is echoed in the work’s title which stems from the whakataukī (proverb) ‘E kimi ana i ngā kawai i toro ki tawhiti’, describing a desire to reclaim a lost or distant relationship. (Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, 2020)

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