“This is an amazing opportunity to highlight to the world our places and people through creative expression and the artistic excellence from within Te Tairāwhiti,” Rina said.
The Tairāwhiti exhibiting artists are Rina Kerekere, Tai Kerekere, Randal Leach, Hiwirori Hatea, Jack Brooking, Henare Tahuri, Miria Pohatu, Candyce Keelan, Erin Rauna and Hoana Forrester.
They all met through Toihoukura – the school of Māori Visual Art & Design in Gisborne.
Each year a theme is chosen for the Florence Biennale International Exhibition.
For 2023, the theme is I AM YOU — Individual and Collective Identities in Contemporary Art and Design.”
Collaboration by the Tairāwhiti contingent on how to approach the theme produced a special and unique idea.
All of the artists are descendants of nannies and papa connected directly with 28 Māori Battalion.
Tāhu (also known as tahuhu) — meaning a legacy of people and place — is the headline for the group’s artistic submissions.
Tāhu is defined as the first weft in the weaving of a traditional Māori garment or the main ridge pole of a home.
The artists’ works distinctly express their views and appreciation of and enlightenment from tāhu.
Leach’s artwork is a reflective mokopuna presentation.
“When you look at my artwork you see a living breathing reflection, a living legacy of our tipuna (ancestors) who went before us, including those who went to war. It is a reflection on the past, present and the future.”
Pohatu’s work includes stretched canvas with acrylic. “To know it, use and live it — the Māori system” is how she described her composition.
Pohatu said the exhibition was an opportunity for the Tairāwhiti artists “to showcase from a Māori perspective”, and she was also looking forward to viewing other works — their technique, perspective and purpose.
Rina Kerekere has put forward digital media work entitled Ka Heke, Ka Heke — Layers of Legacy. It speaks of “illuminating the relationship that layers have with each other to create movement and direction and flow — for me, a reflection of ancestral waters.”
The Florence Biennale International Exhibition features a large range of categories from ceramic art to mixed media to calligraphy textiles and sculpture.
Participating artists and designers are in the running for two awards decided by international juries —
■ The Lorenzo il Magnifico International Award for Art in the categories of ceramic art, drawing, calligraphy and printmaking, installation art, jewellery art, mixed media, new media art, painting, performance art, photography, sculpture, textile and fibre art and video art;
■ The Leonardo da Vinci International Award for design in the categories of architecture and town, industrial and product, fashion and jewellery, interior, communication and graphic, technology and game.
An awards ceremony is held on the last day.
This year’s exhibition will also feature the presentation of Lifetime Achievement awards to Spanish architect, artist and engineer Santiago Calatrava and American photographer and film-maker David LaChapelle.
Major funding for the Tairāwhiti contingent came from Creative New Zealand, with additional support from Toi Hauiti, KE Design and the University of Auckland.
All of their works were shipped to Florence and arrived safely.
The artists are looking forward to their works being exposed to an international market.
