A heart of stones: hidden treasures of Chris Bryant-Toi's sculpture reference the fires of early Māori occupation in the region. Photo / Warren Buckland
A heart of stones: hidden treasures of Chris Bryant-Toi's sculpture reference the fires of early Māori occupation in the region. Photo / Warren Buckland
Local artist Chris Bryant-Toi tells a story of water, fire, and whenua in his latest sculpture trilogy.
The first of three eight-metre-high pou were blessed by mana whenua on Friday as they found their resting place along Te Ara Kahikatea, the highway which joins State Highway 51 and Pakowhai Road.
The Mills Family Trust mostly funded the cost of the $170,000 works, with Hastings District Council chipping in $30,000.
The story connected to the sculptures, as told by Ngāti Porou artist Bryant-Toi, relates to the history of the surrounding area across three specific time periods: pre-colonial, colonial and modern.
"I wanted to reflect the changing landscape in relation to the road, where it cuts through the Whakatū industrial area and Karamu road.
"It isn't so much a reference to our ancestors but a brief look into the ecology of the area," Bryant-Toi said.
The sculptures come as the second stage of a three-year collaborative project, after the completion of the arterial road link in 2019.
"While they were establishing the road they happened across several archeological sites, fire scoops, that have since been carbon-dated to the 15th century.
"I wanted to align our modern age with old traditions of the past and how we talk about the occupation of these spaces from a Māori point of view," he said.
The sculptures at first sight appear half-human, half-kahikatea, and on closer inspection reveal more of their meaning.
Hidden treasures like a ngākau/heart made of stones reference the fires scoops that were found in the area and ahi kā- the fires of early Māori occupation.
The first of three sculptures by Ngāti Porou artist Chris Bryant-Toi along Te Ara Kahikatea. Photo / Warren Buckland
"I collected the stones from discarded fires between the Tukituki river mouth and the Ātea a Rangi star compass, where all of the rivers meet. The stones are connectors to our waterways and to Tāne-nui-ā-Rangi, the knowledge man," he said.
The sculpture of Tāne-nui-ā-Rangi acknowledges the former Ngaruroro pā, whose strength came from the kahikatea trees that formed the fence posts guarding the site. Tāne stands on the corner of Karamū Road and Napier Road.
The second sculpture called Pūtoto is on the corner of Te Ara Kahikatea and Whakatū Road and is connected to the atua of igneous rock.
The third pou that sits on the corner of Te Ara Kahikatea and Pakowhai Road is Parawhenuamea, the atua of sedimentary rock.
"The sculptures are reminders of how nature informs who we are and how we are. At the moment there is global concern about how we co-exist with nature, given the increasing conversations and movements around climate change.
"It's all about connecting with mana atua, cultural beings, mana moana, waterways, mana whenua, the landscape, and mana tangata, people," he said.
Guided by a wish to revitalise traditional Māori art forms, Bryant-Toi learned to carve the pou heads in the style of his tipuna Hoani Ngatai, which he then cast in concrete.
"I wanted to regenerate our older forms of artistic expression by working with new material.
"The Te Ara Kahikatea sculptures symbolise how when our roots are intertwined they hold us more firmly to the ground, that we are stronger in unity," he said.
Chris Bryant-Toi and Ricks Terstappen celebrate the blessing of the first of three sculptures along Te Ara Kahikatea. Photo / Warren Buckland
The sculptures were made in collaboration with Jacob Scott, who co-designed several engineering elements, and Ricks Terstappen, who co-developed the fabrication, welding and installation.
"I wanted to make a link with my work to the sculptures at the Napier Aiport to add my response to the multicultural art conversation in the region," Bryant-Toi said.
Now it's up to the public to interpret Bryant-Toi's art and to embrace, question or challenge it.
"Already we've seen pukeko and a local seal responding positively to it, and that's what it's all about - collaborating with nature," he said.
