of forests and concrete is an exhibition of new work by Matt Tini developed from his ongoing research into harakeke as both resonant material and a ground for image-making. Using harakeke harvested from the whenua around Kuku as well as Pukeahu in inner-city Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Tini first processes the flax fibres to make paper, then uses extracts from the crushed plants to create a light-sensitive surface on which to expose photographic images. The resulting works are anthotypes, a historic method of image-making that uses pigments from plant material developed with the light of Tamanuiterā. For this exhibition, Tini has brought these prints together in a stop-motion film, which is presented alongside several inkjet prints on harakeke paper. Though paper making is not a customary practice in te ao Māori, Tini draws upon existing mātauranga and tikanga, alongside material experimentation and research, to expand its possibilities as a medium. Through a reciprocal exploration of his own whakapapa and that of harakeke, Tini works with this traditional material as a site of knowledge transmission and exchange. Notably, the images he produces are self portraits—a collaboration between the artist and te taiao—and, in turn, a reflection on the lived realities of urban Māori and the complexities of the contemporary relationship to whenua.

Ko of forests and concrete tētahi whakaaturanga hou a Matt Tini, i ahu mai i āna rangahau e moroki ana ki te harakeke hei rawatoi tuku iho, hei papa hanga whakaahua hoki. I kohikohi a Tini i te harakeke nei nō ngā whenua o Kuku, nō te pokapū hoki o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, nō Pukeahu. Hei tuatahi ka whakariterite ia i te harakeke e hua mai tētahi pepa, ka rua ia whakamahi ai i ngā wai i tangohia mai i te tupu penutia hei hanga i tētahi mata e urupare ana ki te aho, ki reira huraina ai ētahi whakaahua. He mātātuhi ā-otaota ngā whakaahua i hua mai, arā, he mea hanga e ai ki te huarahi ukiuki mā reira ngā tae i ahu mai i ngā otaota me ngā hihi a Tamanuiterā ka hura ai i te whakaahua. I te whakaaturanga nei kua whakakotahi a Tini i ēnei mātātuhi hei ataata-kati, e whakakitea nei i te taha o ētahi mātātuhi inkjet ki te pepa harakeke. Ahakoa te mea ehara te hanga pepa i tētahi mahi tuku iho a te Māori, kei te whiri tahi a Tini i ētahi o ngā mātauranga me ngā tikanga o rātou mā, me āna whakatōmene, rangahau hoki, e whakawhānuitia ai ō te pepa pitomata hei rawatoi Māori. Mā te āta whakatōmene i ōna anō whakapapa, me te whakapapa o te harakeke hoki, ka tū mai tēnei rawatoi taketake ki a Tini hei wāhi whakawhitiwhiti mātauranga. Ehara i te hanga, he whakaahua kiriaro te maha o āna mahi—he mahinga tahitanga, ko rāua ko te taiao—he huritao hoki mō ngā wheako o te Māori noho tāone, me ngā whakauaua o te hononga ki te whenua i tēnei ao hurihuri.

Sena Park’s practice explores the evolving relationship between human-designed environments and natural ecosystems, two poles held in particular tension within domestic gardens. Encompassing installation, expanded forms of painting, sculpture, photography and moving image, I touch the surface, we draw wild beauty reflects upon human endeavours to define or transform the wildness of nature in these private spaces. The works in this exhibition take inspiration from the artist’s observations of her surroundings and everyday realities across differing locations, including Tāmaki Makaurau and Paihia in Aotearoa, as well as her travels to Mongolia and Japan. Unstretched canvases are hung from steel frames, crafting a series of framed views within the gallery space. Synthetic fabrics and sculptural objects are juxtaposed with tree branches and other plant matter, and presented alongside two photographs of the various gardens encountered by the artist. The exhibition also includes Park’s first work in moving image, in which a clip of a lawn being mowed—that suburban ritual—is repeated to the point of absurdity, rendering futile its attempt at control. With both humour and attention to materials, Park highlights our relationship with and impact upon te taiao, while also celebrating its adaptability and resilience.

Ka whakatōmenetia mā roto i ngā mahi a Sena Park te hononga e kukune tonu ana i waenganui i ngā wāhi i hanga ai te ringa o te tangata me ngā pūnaha hauropi māori, ngā pou e rua nei e tū whakatete ana i tēnei mea te māra tara ā-whare. Mā te toi puni, mā ētahi huarahi peita e whānui ana, mā te toi tārai, mā te hopu whakaahua, mā te toi ata teretere hoki ka huritau ai a I touch the surface, we draw wild beauty i ā te tangata nanaiore ki te tautuhi, ki te panoni rānei i te wairua tūperepere o te taiao i ēnei wāhi tūmataiti. Kua ahu mai ngā mahi toi o tēnei whakaaturanga i tā te ringatoi i kite rā i ngā tini horopaki me ō rātou tūāhuatanga, mai i Tāmaki Makaurau me Paihia i Aotearoa nei, ki Mongōria me Hapani, i a ia e tipiwhenua ana i reira. Arā ngā kānawehi kore kūtoro e iri ana i ngā anga rino, e hua mai ai ētahi kitenga whai taiapa i roto i te wharetoi. Kei te tū tauaro ētahi papanga horihori me ngā taonga tārai ki ētahi peka rākau me ngā otaota, e whakakitea ana i te taha o ngā hopunga whakaahua e rua mō ētahi māra i tūpono ai te ringatoi. Kua whai wāhi hoki i roto i tēnei whakaaturanga te mahi toi ata teretere tuatahi a Park, ki reira tētahi mauti e topengia ai—ko tērā tikanga paenoho ko tērā—e topengia tonu ai, e topengia tonu ai, hoki atu, hoki atu, kia rorohau rā anō te mahi, mā reira tēnei nanaiore ki te whakatuanui i te taiao e noho mūhore ai. Mā tana kanohi hōmiromiro ki ngā rawatoi, mā tētahi wairua pukukata hoki a Park ka miramira ai i tō tātou hononga ki te taiao, ō tātou kawekawe hoki ki tērā, i te wā kotahi ka whakanui hoki ia i te aumangea me te urutau o te taiao.