Artwork information

Ngā Mata Moana, 2024, part of Atarangi Anderson’s Ngā Mata Aute series, acknowledges the community of kiriaute practitioners from Aotearoa within the expansive context of Moana Nui A Kiwa. Anderson embraces deeply the Mātauranga (Māori knowledge system) around aute, considering the “eyes of aute” an understanding of and acknowledgement to all pacific nations’ customary practices of making tapa, kapa, siapo, and hiapo, and sharing knowledge of the techniques.

The painting upon the aute of Ngā Mata Moana, 2024, recalls the tāniko of Kaitaka, an elegantly designed and finely woven cloak worn by rangatira and those high-born within traditional Māori society.

The pale grey, blue colour, aumoana, lines the sides and base of the work in customary patterning found in tāniko design. Tāniko is a tightly woven feature of cloaks, that carry narratives through geometry. The work is beaded with a few delicate rows of pounamu, spaced to create an elegant sense of adornment and movement.