Tangaroa

Kei roto i te pikitia hihiri a Cliff Whiting, arā a *Tangaroa*, 1982, ko ngā kikorangi me ngā kārikiōrangi o te moana te tuarongo o te whaitua o Tangaroa. Kei roto i te peita whakahari a te ringa toi, he kōwhaiwhai ngā ngaru e pīrori ana i te mānia e kōtiutiu haere ai ngā tuna me ngā ika huri noa i a Tangaroa. Ko Tangaroa, he tama nā Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku, te poutokomanawa e tū hāngai ai i a ia e hiki ana i te moana ki runga ake i tōna upoko. Ko tā Whiting he mihi atu ki ngā atua Māori i roto i ana mahi o taua wā, arā ko tāna pikitia mō Tangaroa, he tauira pai o te whakaihiihi, o te pūkenga, o ngā taipitopito toi, o tāna tāera e rongonuihia ai ia. Ko tētahi tino pūkenga o Whiting, he whakaora i ngā kōrero nehe Māori, he whakaatu i ngā tirohanga o te ao hurihuri ki ngā ngā kōrero a rātou mā, he whakarauora i ngā whakaaro me ngā whakapono o ngā wā o mua.

In Cliff Whiting’s dynamic *Tangaroa*, 1982, turquoise blues and ocean tides of aquamarine form the backdrop of Tangaroa’s underwater domain. In this celebratory painting, kōwhaiwhai (rafter paintings) are rolling waves across the picture plain where eels and fish dart about the powerful figure of Tangaroa, god of the sea. Tangaroa, one of Ranginui and Papatūānuku’s sons, is the central figure standing legs astride and lifting the ocean over his head. Whiting pays tribute to various Māori dieties in works from this time. His depiction of Tangaroa is full of the vibrancy, craftmanship and artistic detail for which his illustrative style is renowned. Whiting had the ability to bring traditional Māori narratives to life providing energetic contemporary interpretations of ancestrial stories and embuing new life into long-held cultural ideas and beliefs.

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