Rimurapa I

Ko te rimurapa te rimu moana nui rawa o te ao. I ngā wā o mua, tākaia ai te tītī me te ika mōmona ki te rimurapa. Ko tāku kaupapa matua he whakaatu i te tikanga o mua hei whakamahi rimurapa. I kohikohia te rimurapa mai i ngā takutai whakatetonga o Ahipara, mai i te Red Rocks i Te Whanganui-a-Tara, mai i tētahi pito o Te One-roa-a-Tōhē i Te Taitokerau. He tere tāku whakamahi i te rimurapa – he pōkai, he whiri, he tapahi rānei.

– Toi Te Rito Maihi

Ko tā Rimurapa I me Rimurapa II, 2018 he whakanui i tēnei taonga e warewaretia ai i ētahi wā hei rauemi, hei rawa raranga. Kei te whakaaturia hei tautau whakaniko, kei te kitea te ngāwari ātaahua o te ahanoa me te āhua (hei tuemi whakaniko), ka hua he tirohanga hou e pā ana ki te whānuitanga o te toi whakanikoniko Māori.

Rimurapa is the biggest ocean seaweed. This fresh kelp was once used for keeping mutton birds in, as well as fatty fish. My main purpose was to let people know that this was the old way of using seaweed. My husband and I collected the rimurapa from shorelines south of Ahipara, at Red Rocks in Wellington and at the end of the Ninety Mile Beach in the Far North. I worked on the rimurapa quickly – folding or plaiting or simple cutting techniques.

– Toi Te Rito Maihi

Rimurapa I and Rimurapa II, 2018 celebrate the importance of this often-overlooked resource and weaving material. Presented as suspended adornment drops, the beautiful simplicity of the object and the form (as an adornment item) is registered in the works, bringing a refreshing perspective on the scope of Māori adornment practice.

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