Nau mai, haere mai

In collaboration, weaver Matthew McIntyre Wilson of Taranaki Iwi and designer Len Hetet of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Apa are aiming to breathe life into the mana whenua aspirations through four captivating artworks, inspired by the legend of Ngaengae. The newly built Naenae Pool and Fitness Centre is set to grace Lower Hutt and be unveiled in mid-2024.

At the heart of this project was a profound cultural narrative gifted by Te Atiawa's Kura Moeahu, inspired by the tale of two tupua dwelling in Naenae's freshwater lake, creators of the Waiwhetū and Te Awamutu rivers. Matthew McIntyre Wilson drew from the rich stories of whenua , ngahere, and awa to craft a monumental Waka Maumahara, an entrance artwork extending a warm welcome to all who visit.

The community are an integral part of this artistic odyssey through a series of wānanga. Ngā Whetu Hei Whai – To Pursue the Light invited participants to weave stars, connect with the Million Stars to End Violence project, and immerse themselves in the narrative of Te Ngaengae. These stars, transformed into a vinyl film, now grace the windows of the new swimming pool, a lasting testament to community collaboration.

This extraordinary project exemplifies the power of art to unite a community and celebrate its rich cultural heritage. Matthew and Len, in collaboration with the Hutt City Council and Architecture HDT, ensured that Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui stories and histories are etched into the very landscape of Whanganui-a-tara.

Artists, Supporters + Collaborators:

Turumeke Harrington [Kai Tahu]

Ngaahina Hohaia [Taranaki]

Neke Moa [Ngati Kahungunu, Kai Tahu, Ngati Porou, Tuwharetoa]

Matthew McIntyre Wilson [Taranaki]

Ngaroma Riley [Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri]

Isaac Te Awa [Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, Ngā Puhi]

Jude Te Punga Nelson [Te Āti Awa]

Kezia Whakamoe [Tūhoe, Ngāti Ruapani]

Wellington City Council Arts and Culture Fund

Natalie Jones [Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Ngāi Tahu] The Price of Change Ltd

Rieko Woodford-Robinson

Futuna Chapel Trust

Tim Park, Otari/Wilton’s Bush

The Ko wai rā te manu? Wānanga Series was held at Ōtari-Wilton's Bush. During this series, participants had the opportunity to acquire skills such as bird skinning and feather preparation. They also engaged in learning karakia and gaining an understanding of tikanga for the contemporary use of native manu.

The wānanga included a visit to the Te Papa Taonga Māori Collections, where participants conducted research under the guidance of Isaac Te Awa. This research allowed them to delve into how our Tūpuna utilised feathers and how these practices may have evolved over time. The wānanga aimed to provide artists with the chance to connect with a whakapapa of creative expression deeply rooted in Matauranga Māori.

The culmination of this enriching experience was the Ko wai rā te manu? exhibition, which took place over four days at John Scott's iconic Futuna Chapel in Karori. This modernist architectural gem, inspired by Māori kaupapa aesthetics, provided a unique and fitting backdrop to showcase the new works created as a result of the wānanga series.

“Ko au te awa. Ko te awa ko au” or “I am the river, the river is me” is a phrase that is intrinsic to the Māori of the Whanganui River. For over 160 years, Whanganui Māori have fought for the protection of their River, which they believe is a living reflection of their own well-being. In 2017, history was made when the New Zealand government gave the Whanganui River its own legal identity, and along with it the rights and duties of a legal person, but after over 200 years of colonisation, much has changed along the stretch of New Zealand’s third-longest river. 1

In 1921, an expedition was sent by the Dominion Museum into the Whanganui River valley. In attendance was New Zealand filmmaker and photographer James McDonald and ethnologist Elsdon Best. Together they travelled to the River settlements of Koriniti, Hiruhārama, and Pipiriki, filming, interviewing, and photographing Whanganui Māori. The films McDonald captured show many aspects of Māori life, and, notably, the making and use of the woven Māori eel traps known as hīnaki. Some of these hīnaki were collected for the collection of the Dominion Museum (which later became Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand). This year marks 100 years since James McDonald’s expedition, and since this time the collected hīnaki have resided in museum collections. Unfortunately, time has not been kind to these hīnaki, and slowly, piece by piece, their physical structure and condition has been eroded. Likewise the mātauranga — the knowledge and skill of their making and construction — has also been eroded among the people of Whanganui River.

Artist, weaver, and jeweller Matthew McIntyre-Wilson (Ngā Mahanga, Taranaki) has had a long-standing interest in the weaving of complex patterns and is well known within New Zealand for the incorporation of these patterns into his contemporary jewellery practice. For Matthew, the complexity and beauty of the weaving utilised in hīnaki have always been special. In 2020, Matthew attended an artist residency at Tylee Cottage in Whanganui with the intention of learning how to make hīnaki, only to discover that the art of traditional hīnaki making had disappeared.

Written by Isaac Te Awa

Photography by Natalie Jones

Collaborators + Supporters: Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand, Creative New Zealand, Te Atawhai o Te Ao, The Sarjeant Art Gallery, Whanganui Regional Museum, Heritage New Zealand.

“Much of my intricate weaving in copper and silver begins with a drawing. When I first started weaving, I studied objects and came to the realisation that if I can draw it I can weave it.

An important part of making this work will be to acknowledge the value of weaving and textiles within contemporary Māori art and the ability raranga has to communicate and reflect community values.”

Matthew McIntyre Wilson

Collaborators + Supporters: Te Riu Roa, New Zealand Educational Institute, Workspace Architects, Autex New Zealand, Makers Fabrication, nominated mana whenua advisors and artists.

The Ka Whaihanga Wānanga Series and Exhibition brought together a community of talented Māori weavers for a series of immersive wananga spanning ten days. This collaborative endeavour aimed to foster creative exchange, inspire new ideas, and culminate in a captivating exhibition.

The resulting exhibition took place over four enriching days at the iconic Futuna Chapel in Karori, designed by John Scott. This masterpiece of modernist architecture draws inspiration from Māori kaupapa aesthetics, providing a unique backdrop to showcase the artistry born from this creative gathering. The exhibition proudly featured new works that emerged from the collective spirit of the wānanga series.

This initiative was particularly poignant, as it provided a space for artists to reconnect and rejuvenate their creative energies after the challenges posed by Covid-19. The opportunity to meet kanohi ki te kahohi [face to face] was invigorating for all who participated. Ka Whaihanga extends its heartfelt gratitude to the Wellington City Council, Finn Michalak at Otari-Wilton's Bush, and all supporters who embraced this kaupapa with enthusiasm.

Led by the guidance of Matthew McIntyre Wilson and Charlene Fraser, with invaluable assistance from Shainey Moreli, the participating artists— Hiri Crawford, Cathy Payne, Purewa McGregor, Jude Te Punga Nelson, Maehe Ranginui, Tracy Robens, and Corabelle Summerton —came together to celebrate the art of creation and the power of connection.

He Raukura [2019] Abodo thermally modified pine, CNC routed, stain Commissioned by Wellington City Council for Waitohi, Johnsonville’s new library and community hub. Fabricated by Makers Fabrication, Lower Hutt.

“Much of my intricate weaving in copper and silver begins with a drawing. When I first started weaving, I studied objects and came to the realisation that if I can draw it I can weave it. The challenge with developing the work for Waitohi was being able to translate a woven surface to a carved surface using a series of line drawings.”

The architecture of the building responds to the site and the historical relevance of Johnsonville. The layering of complex patterning within the eight entrance columns help to highlight the existing narratives in the building and reflect those which are not so overt.

The stepping, plateaus, peaks and troughs, meandering through the pattern follow the path of the streams, river and people who have moved through the landscape. These patterns of usage will continue as the community connects with the spaces and new pathways are created. Being of Taranaki descent, the raukura brings together a number of ideas and concepts which are of great importance to my jewellery and weaving practice. The raukura is a symbol of peace and harmony for tribes who affiliate to the Taranaki rohe. They are worn as a single feather or a plume of feathers.

An important part of making this work was to acknowledge the value of weaving and textiles within contemporary Maori art. The cut of the line is all in one direction which is specific to Raranga. The reverse patterns on the panels are multiple variations of the Nihotaniwha and Nihoniho. The saw-edged pattern is found in Taniko and Tukutuku. I see the entrance to the building much like the Roro [porch] of a Marae, a space to converge, welcome and korero.

Photography by Amber-Jayne Bain

Collaborators + Supporters > Wellington City Council, Athfield Architects, Makers Fabrication.

If you put your hand in your pocket right now, your fingers might touch a miniature story. On one side is a woman’s face, the same woman’s face, older or younger, larger or smaller. On the other side, there might be a ship, a bird, or even another face. There will be numbers that tell you the value we place on that particular story, and there will be values that cannot be numbered.

Matthew McIntyre Wilson’s series The Price of Change asks us to think about the stories we carry with us, the value(s) we place on them, and what they have cost us. Begun in 2008, the series of brooches have been extended to reflect the stories of Matariki.

The brooches are made by harvesting the elements of coins from Aotearoa, Britain, and the Cook Islands and then recombining them to create arresting images. Elements like New Zealand ora and fauna, the symbols of the different nations that make up the United Kingdom, Māori iconography, and imagery of statehood and sovereignty all appear on the coins Matthew has used.

“By arranging the motifs found on New Zealand coins, United Kingdom coins and other Pacific Island coins, I was able to create compositions that possess narratives of a historical, political, environmental and cultural nature. One of the things I enjoy about making these is that there are so many possibilities for the compositions within a restricted range of coins. It is appealing to me that you can combine imagery commonly found in pockets and purses all around New Zealand and arrange them to be viewed in an entirely new context.”

For Matariki 2018, Matthew has continued work on The Price of Change to draw out his reflections on Taranaki and the star Puanga. Taranaki is the only landscape feature left on our coins and appears throughout the series of brooches. As Taranaki iwi, Matthew sees the image of the mountain as a connection between himself, the material he works with, and the stories his pieces are telling.

Some of these stories are especially connected to Matariki. For Taranaki whānui, Puanga (known as Rigel in English) appears just before Matariki and marks the beginning of Matariki in the Taranaki region. Some of the pieces displayed here feature the single star of Puanga to reflect the experience of seeing Matariki from the west coast, while other pieces feature the seven stars of the constellation. The karakia that accompanies this collection knits together these various experiences of Matariki from Taranaki and around the country.

Matariki is a time for stories. In the cold, dark weather of early winter, whānau have always gathered indoors to tell stories old and new. Some stories recollect a barely visible past, while others are visions of the future. They are an opportunity to remake the space we live in.

Take Courtenay Place, for example. The area where Matthew’s works stand is part of Te Aro Pā, one of the largest pā in Wellington until the 1880s, where large numbers of Ngāti Ruanui, Te Atiawa, and Taranaki people lived and continue to live. The Price of Change reflects some of the personal and collective histories of the people who live in Wellington today.

“The history of many New Zealanders is like my own, a mix of Māori, Scottish, Irish and British and the potent images found on the coins create various interpretations

dependent on an individual’s heritage or perspective of this country. In New Zealand, where there is such a turbulent history between the crown and Māori, there are numerous stories and perspectives to be told. As a collection, it feels open-ended to me as far as the compositions go. It is constantly evolving. It holds the same appeal to me as weaving and pattern making, the restrictions at first seem, well, restricting, but there is a sense of freedom within that. The choices that you make in order to restrict yourself and then the limits you can stretch out to is a form of creativity I enjoy.”

Objects help us to craft the stories we want to tell. The Price of Change series repurposes one of the most common objects we carry with us, the coins in our pockets and purses. It invites us to think harder about these little pieces of metallic storytelling that we carry with us everywhere and exchange with others. What do the pictures on them say about our history, about the people who were here before us, about the movement of people to and across Aotearoa? Whose faces and which words are inscribed there? How does that visual and verbal information change when we see coins cut, rearranged, and magnified? What other stories are those coins able to share?

Written by Nikki Hessell

Photography by Amber-Jayne Bain

To help raise awareness for the programme WAI [Women’s Arts Initiative, Wellington] we engaged the Wellington public in the One Million Stars to End Violence Project. We ran multiple Star Weave Jams throughout the Wellington Region for Matariki 2017.

Collaborators + Supporters : Te Whare Rokiroki, Māori Women’s Refuge, Wellington City Council, Mahara Gallery, Porirua City Council, Wellington Museum, Toi Pōneke, Lux Light Festival, Thistle Hall, The Dowse Art Museum, Whirinaki Whare Taonga.