Whakapakoko II

Ko Manos Nathan tētahi o ngā kaiwhakatū matua o Ngā Kaihanga Uku – the National Māori Clay Workers Collective; ko ia tētahi o ngā ringa toi matapaia matua, hoki. Kitea ai i roto i āna toi ngā tohu me ngā auaha kei roto i te whakairo Māori, i te tā moko, i ngā tauira āhuahanga o te whatu. Ka tāpirihia tētahi āhuatanga whakahira ki āna toi i ngā tau waenga-1990 i tōna kitenga i ngā waka kōiwi e whakanikohia ai ki te whakairo, o tōna kāinga i te Taitokerau, ā, ka haria aua auaha whakairo atu i ngā ātārangi ki te ao mārama.

Ka puta mai te *Whakapakoko II*, 1998 i te mātai waka kōiwi i hangaia ai ki te pupuri i ngā kōiwi o ōna tūpuna i haria toropukutia ki ngā ana me ngā wāhi taratahi o ngā paripari. Kei te whakamahi a Nathan i tāna toi ki te kawe i ēnei auaha tūturu ki te ao hou, ā, ko tā āna auaha uku he whakamihi i ngā pūkenga toi o ōna tūpuna nā rātou i tārai ngā waka kōiwi aweawe, waka kōiwi rangatira. He kaitiaki āna auaha e ārahi nei i te wairua o te tangata kua mate ki a Hine-nui-te-pō, ko tāna mahi, he manaaki i taua wairua.

Manos Nathan is the co-founder of Ngā Kaihanga Uku – the National Māori Clay Workers Collective and is considered one of New Zealand’s leading ceramic artists. His work is influenced by the symbols and forms found in customary Māori carving, tā moko (tattoo) and the geometric patterns of raranga (weaving). A significant development in Nathan’s art practice occurred in the mid-1990s. He was inspired by the carved burial chests of his Northland homeland and brought these carved forms out from the shadow into light.

*Whakapakoko II*, 1998 comes from this investigation into waka kōiwi (carved wooden burial chests) that were created to house the remains of ancestors and secreted in caves and isolated clifftop locations. Through his art practice Nathan brings these figurative forms into the realm of the contemporary and his clay figures pay tribute to the artistic talent of his forebears who crafted powerful and majestic waka kōiwi. Nathan’s figures can be understood as kaitiaki (guardians) that guide us when we leave this world to be cared for by Hine-nui-te-pō (supreme female deity and keeper of souls) in the afterlife.

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