of forests and concrete

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 developed from plant material with the light of Tamanuiterā. 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 himself and te taiao—and, in turn, a reflection on the lived realities of urban Māori and the complexities of the contemporary relationship to whenua.