Maro

Ko tā ēnei peita whakamīharo a Donna Tupaea-Petero he wero i te tikanga māori o te pikitia ahu-rua, mā te whakauru i te aho haukura hei apanga tae. He hīanga, he auaha te pāhekoheko o te aho haukura ki te mata kua peitahia; ka korowaitia ngā mata kua peitahia, ka mutu he rerekē tā tātou titiro ki te peita.

Hei tāpiri atu ko te aronga ā-ariā, kua roa e arohia ana e te ringa toi, ki te raranga hei huarahi ki te whakatakoto whakaaro mō te mahi a te wahine Māori i te ahurea a Kui mā, a Koro mā, me te ahurea o nāianei. Ko te rārangi, te kākano, te tātiwha, he tohutoru ki ngā auaha raranga kei roto i ngā tikanga raranga, ā, ko ngā auaha tiramaka haukura he tauira mā te pūeru me te hoahoa. Kei roto i te mahi *Maro*, 2007, kua tīhoretia te mata kua peitahia, ki te tārake i ngā apanga hinu me te peita kiriaku, e whakaata ai i ngā kuta ā-pūtoi tae, e kitea i ngā wā o mua i runga i te maro. Ko te toi *Pihepihe*, 2007 ko taua pūeru anō – he aho poto, he pūtoi piupiu. Kua tuia ēnei mahi toi ki te aho, kua rarangahia ki te peita – he tauira o te auaha hou, o te peita Māori o nāianei.

These paintings by Donna Tupaea-Petero disrupt the conventional two-dimensional picture plane by incorporating neon light as a layer of colour. Neon light interacts in a playful manner, cloaking the painted surfaces and altering how we read and negotiate the painting.

Running alongside this is the artist’s long-held conceptual interest in mahi raranga (Māori weaving work) as a means of commenting upon the roles of Māori women in both customary and contemporary Māori culture. The use of line, texture and shade allude to woven forms present in weaving traditions, while the ominous neon shapes indicate garment pattern and design. In the work *Maro*, 2007, the artist has pared back the painted surface to isolate layered oil and acrylic paint, reflecting the kuta (rush) tags in tight clusters of colour traditionally found on the maro garment. *Pihepihe*, 2007 echoes the customary garment of the same name with its small tags and clusters of piupiu (cylindrical dyed flax tags). Threaded with light and woven with paint, these artworks represent a new form of contemporary Māori painting.

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