Ngā hau o Tāwhirimātea

Image courtesy of Cheska Brown. 

Image courtesy of Cheska Brown. 

now on
18 Feb – 15 Apr

Hana Pera Aoake, Taarn Scott

Ngā hau o Tāwhirimātea brings together work by Hana Pera Aoake and Taarn Scott, in collaboration with Riki Gooch.

 


 

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Through an expanse of ceramic and metal works, Aoake and Scott contemplate the diverse whakapapa of ngā hau (winds), especially as they relate to Te Whanganui-a-Tara. The artists consider hau as both a temperamental and destructive force, and one of potential and protection, with awareness of how ngā hau have shaped the south coast and Te Whanganui-a-Tara landscape and identity. 

Rippling through the exhibition is a composition by musician Riki Gooch, designed using four types of sound sources, each representing a wind direction: hauraro, tonga, hauāuru and marangai. Together the works in Ngā hau o Tāwhirimātea encourage their audience to slow down, be humble, consider their relationship to their immediate surroundings, and in turn the broader environment and weather systems.

 

 

Ngā hau o Tāwhirimātea by Riki Gooch

 

 

This sound piece was designed by musician Riki Gooch to accompany the exhibition 'Ngā hau o Tāwhirimātea' by Hana Pera Aoake and Taarn Scott. Gooch has used four types of sound sources to represent each wind direction: hauraro - blowing pūtātara and felted piano; tonga - swinging microphones; hauāuru - harmonic/overtone flutes; marangai - feedback from guitar and organ.

Hana Pera Aoake

Hana Pera Aoake (Ngaati Mahuta, Ngaati Hinerangi me Ngaati Raukawa, Tainui/Waikato, Ngaati Waewae, Waitaha) is an artist and writer. Their practice examines tensions between Indigenous and European epistemologies, threading these together to weave new meanings. Aoake works across many mediums including textiles, raranga, ceramics, painting, performance, film, sculpture and writing. 


Aoake completed an MFA at Massey University Te Kunenga Ki Pūrehuroa and took part in the Independent Study Programme at Maumaus Escola de Artes Visuais, Lisbon. Their book of selected writings A bathful of hot water and kawakawa (Compound Press) was released in 2020. In 2021-22 Aoake was a participating artist in Regional Arts Australia’s inaugural Regional Assembly.

Also active as a curator and educator, Aoake currently co-organises Kei te pai press with Morgan Godfrey.


Taarn Scott

Taarn Scott is an artist from Ōtepoti. She graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts with a BFA (Honours). She is interested in the Tactile, illustrative practices and community art. Recent exhibitions include joint shows with Hana Pera Aoake and Wesley John Fourie, Invasive Weeds (or I wish I could give you the world, but I was only given mud, rot, and the bones of a half-eaten fish), The Physics Room, Ōtautahi; The Future of Dirt RM Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau; and An Endless Sky of Honey, Meanwhile Gallery and Projectspace, Pōneke. Scott’s solo exhibitions include Outlining/ Shifting Channels, Refinery ArtSpace, Whakatū, and Transient Places, ADJO, Ōtepoti.

Riki Gooch

Riki Pirihi (Ngāti Wai/Patuharakeke/Ngāti Māhanga Hourua) is a musican based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara and performs under the moniker Cave Circles and DJ Oboe. He is currently researching and developing the Conduction method with the Taonga Puoro ensemble, Te Ātea Nui and plays drums with Al Fraser, Mara TK, Orchestra Spheres and with different configurations from the Noa Records collective.

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maybe i’m just like a gust of wind

Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.

Image courtesy of Cheska Brown.

now on
18 Feb – 15 Apr

Wesley John Fourie

maybe i’m just like a gust of wind is an exhibition by Tāmaki Makaurau based artist Wesley John Fourie.  

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 Using large-scale soft sculpture, performance and poetry, Fourie processes experiences of love, loss and queerness in relation to the natural landscape.

As an extension to their exhibition, superstar (and so I lay here for you) is a performance by Fourie available to view online only. Here, the artist sings about being helplessly in love with someone, while feeling helplessly in love with someone. 



superstar (and so I lay here for you), Wesley John Fourie, 2023, video performance duration 4:33.

In superstar (and so I lay here for you)  Fourie performs in their studio next to their artwork exhibited in maybe i'm just like a gust of wind. The indentations on the floor work mark where Fourie and their lover lay together the last time they saw each other.

Objects used as a microphone in the performance include size 16 knitting needles, a hammer, linseed oil, poster paint, banana, and turpentine.

Still from superstar (and so I lay here for you), Wesley John Fourie, 2023, video performance duration 4:33. Courtesy of the artist.

Still from superstar (and so I lay here for you), Wesley John Fourie, 2023, video performance duration 4:33.


Courtesy of the artist.

I screamed his name

From the top of the fucking mountain

Into the wind

A call of love

To remember

Dreaming of him

The sun set long ago on this fantasy

So i scream

The wind howls

It roars

Calling your name

A memory

And with his delicate touch he pressed himself into me

And from his skin i was born again

Maybe im just like a gust of wind

Maybe im just like a wave of love

Crashing

Over the earth

A song for a thousand suns

The wind roars

Maybe like im just the waves of the sea

A force

A phenomena

A flash of lighting

I called your name

Screaming it at the top of my fucking lungs

And so the wind roared for you

I whispered into the ethos

I miss you

I love you 

Always 

Forever the first morning

Again and again and again

 

- Poem by Wesley John Fourie

 

 

Wesley John Fourie

Wesley John Fourie is an artist currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Primarily working with textiles, they also write, perform, draw and paint. Their work explores themes of nature, spirituality, and sexuality, often manifesting as large-scale “soft sculptures”. In Fourie’s words they “see art as a vehicle to raise awareness of the sacred status of our natural environment.”


Recent solo exhibitions include Red Night Wanderings, Broker Galleries, Tāhuna; They Came To Me In The Night, RDS Gallery, Ōtepoti and I followed you into the sea, Te Kōpotu, Te Whanga a Toi Whakatane. They exhibited in the 28th Slavonian Biennale, and have participated in several residencies including Venezia Contemporanea and St Petersburg Art Residency (SPAR). Fourie’s practice includes collaboration, having recently worked intimately with artist and writer Hana Pera Aoake and artist Taarn Scott. The three artists have exhibited together in An Endless Sky of Honey, Meanwhile Gallery and Projectspace, Pōneke; Invasive Weeds (or I wish I could give you the world, but I was only given mud, rot, and the bones of a half-eaten fish), The Physics Room, Ōtautahi; and The Future of Dirt, RM Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau.

https://www.wesleyjohnfourie.com/

 

 

Enjoy would like to thank The Chartwell Trust for generously supporting this project.

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