All cultures recall creation narratives that speak to universal questions about human existence and our place in the order of all things. The Māori creation story is the oldest philosophy of Aotearoa New Zealand and articulates the origin stories that Māori still recall and observe. This begins in the state of Te Kore, described as the great nothingness, the empty faceless void. In Te Kore, time is suspended in darkness – in a state of unrealised potential. These artworks consider monumental ideas about nothingness and being in powerful and provocative ways. The works are engaged in an open-ended conversation about the celestial realm, cosmology and creation.
 

Ko tā ngā ahurea katoa he maumahara i ngā kōrerohanga mō ngā pātai rētō mō te tauoranga o te tangata, ā, mō tō tatou tūrangawaewae i tēnei ao. Ko te hangangana o te ao e ai ki te Māori te aroro tawhito rawa o Aotearoa ka mutu kei te kōrero tonu, kei te aro tonu a Ngāi Māori ki aua kōrero orokohanga. Tīmata ai aua kōrero ki Te Kore – te hemanga nui, te kanohi tē kitea. Kāore kau e paku kitea a runga, a raro. Kei te tārewa te wā i roto i te pō – he noho torohū, he pitomata kāore anō kia ea. Kei roto i tēnei kohinga toi he ariā nunui mō te kore, mō te tauoranga, e kawea ana e ngā mahi aweawe, e ngā mahi whakapātaritari. Kei te tūtohu ngā mahi toi i te matapakinga mutunga kore hei huritao i ngā kōrerohanga nui mō te whānau mārama, mō te tātai arorangi, mō te hanganga o te ao.
 

Artworks | Mahi toi

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Whenua Kore
Whenua Kore

Robert Jahnke

Production date
2019
Medium
lacquer, mild steel, powder coated aluminium, neon, mirror pane, mirror, laminated glass, toughened glass, electrical components
Size (h x w)
250 x 1535 x 1535 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2019
Accession no
C2020/1/1
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Null and Void
Null and Void

Peter Robinson

Production date
2001
Medium
custom wood, lacquer
Size (h x w)
800 x 583 x 1935 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2006
Accession no
C2006/1/15/1.1-11
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I Am I, I Am Not I
I Am I, I Am Not I

Peter Robinson

Production date
2001
Medium
Lambda print
Size (h x w)
3190 x 1200 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2001
Accession no
2001/21
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Clear Zero Shift
Clear Zero Shift

Peter Robinson

Production date
2005
Medium
Perspex
Size (h x w)
8500 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the artist and Sue Crockford Gallery, 2008
Accession no
C2008/1/15
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Not on display

Universe
Universe

Peter Robinson

Production date
2001
Medium
fibreglass, synthetic polymer paint
Size (h x w)
1350 x 1100 x 2000 mm
Credit line
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2006
Accession no
C2006/1/15/2.1-3