81 POU Standing guard for moana and whenuA
Papare eighty.one
PĀTAKA ART + MUSEUM
22 June – 13 October 2024
Anton Forde (Ngāti Ruanui, Taranaki) with Shiree Reihana (Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Tūteauru, Ngāi Tūpoto) at Pātaka Art + Museum 22 June–13 October. Papare Eighty.one features 81 carved, wooden pou that appear as sentinels in the gallery – a call for collective action in the fight to safeguard our natural environment.
Each pou is distinguished by only the slightest difference in head shape, inclination and hand-carved pounamu taonga and each features motifs, carved forms and numerology drawn from a connection to taiao and natural systems that have sustained humanity. Together, the pou will be placed in a kao kao-inspired (ribbed) formation. Five of the Pou are cloaked with Kākahu by Shiree Reihana, ” Once cloaked, the Pou become more humanlike in their form, possessing mana, strength and grounding the exhibit. Here stand our guardians, our tūpuna, who are steadfastly guiding our children into a better future.
Inā kei te mōhio koe ko wai koe, i anga mai koe i hea,
kei te mōhio koe, kei te anga atu ki hea.
(If you know who you are and where you are from, then you will know where you are going).”
“Configuring the pou as guards, Anton places natural environments under their protection,” says Pātaka senior curator, Ioana Gordon-Smith, “Papare Eighty.one enacts a call to safeguard the future of our natural world for generations to come.”
“I hope my works connect us to our whenua and moana in a way that makes us want to do more to protect them,” says Forde.
