Tu te manu ora i te Rangi

He whakaharikoa, he whakamīharo, he mākohakoha te hanganga nei e kawe nei i te tangata ki te ngahere e noho nei ngā hua o te kete aronui, he wāhi e whakahui ai i te hononga o Tāne, atua o te ngahere, ki a Rehua, te whetū o te raumati e ai ki te Māori. Tāheke iho ai ngā io kōwhai ki ngā kapua i whakairohia nei e Ngataiharuru, hei whakaatu i ngā hihi whakaora o te raumati i mauria ai ki a Papatūānuku e Rehua. Nā Saffronn Te Ratana i hanga ēnei manu itiiti mai i te peita kiriaku hei whakaatu i te tūī – te koha nā Rehua ki a Tāne. Kei te whakataurite ngā tukuoro kua whakairohia e Hemi Macgregor ki ngā tangi kārangaranga o te wao nui a Tāne, e tuku iho ana i te mātauranga. Nā ngā whakaata kārohirohi, ngā āhua e puāwai mai ana, ngā rākau e pihi ana, me ngā tae kitakita, i whakawhitia ai te wāhi whakaaturanga ki tētahi taiao muramura e whakawhetai ana i te tāmatanga o Papatūānuku, o Ranginui, o ō rāua uri – ngā kararehe, ngā tupuranga katoa.

Jubilant, magical and tranquil, this installation takes you on a journey through a metaphysical forest celebrating the intertwined relationship of Tāne, the god of the forest and Rehua, the star of summer in Māori cosmology. Yellow threads cascade towards floating cloud formations carved by Ngataiharuru, visualising the nourishing warm rays of summer brought to earth by Rehua. Small birds made out of acrylic paint by Saffronn Te Ratana reference the tūī that Rehua gifted to Tāne. Stereo speakers carved by Hemi Macgregor suggest the resonating sounds of life in the forest and the voice of Tāne – the passing on of knowledge. Replete with shimmering mirrors, blooming contours, sprouting trees and bursts of colour, this collaborative project transforms the gallery space into an energetic, encompassing narrative landscape that gives thanks to the reciprocal revitalisation of earth and sky and their shared offspring – all life on earth.

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