Maia Keane’s ‘too much you fullas’ exhibition opens at Tairāwhiti Museum

Maia Keane is one of the two kaitaunaki kaitieki Māori at Tairāwhiti Museum and used her skills to put this exhibition together. Photo / Matai O'Connor

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A new exhibition at Tairāwhiti Museum showcases the work of artists from across the Tairāwhiti region with a connection to artist Maia Keane.

Maia Keane (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rongowhakaata) was inspired by her personal and professional transformation over the past year and has titled her exhibition Too much you fullas.

“The exhibition is about thanking the people I have built relationships with across the whole hāpori (community).

“When I started contacting people I didn’t really have a proper brief,” Keane said. “It was more about transformation and at the time it was me reflecting on my time here. I feel like I have grown a lot.”

The exhibition features works by friends, whānau, teachers and students she has taught and been taught by at Toihoukura. Many of her friends are artists. Some have exhibited before and some never had until Keane asked them to.

Many artists are based in Māori galleries in Gisborne, including Hoea! Gallery, He Rau Aroha, Toihoukura, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Whirikoka, Haututu Lab, and Ngā Whānau o te whare Taonga o te Tairāwhiti whanui.

Set in Tairāwhiti Museum’s main gallery, Keane transformed the walls from dark grey to a pastel yellow and the different backdrops are pastel blue, peach and purple.

“I wanted to give ice cream parlour vibes — a sweet delicious treat.”

The exhibition is made up of many different artists with different mediums. Photo / Matai O'Connor

Keane said she took inspiration from the sunset as it was a new dawn every day and everybody liked to watch the sunset and acknowledge its beauty.

Two of Keane’s students’ works have been installed on each side of the doorway at the exhibition entrance.

“I wanted my students to be at the forefront. It’s all about nurturing the next generations of artists.”

Visitors are then met by a tekoteko named Tupaia, carved by Keane’s partner, Heremaia Barlow.

“This is the first tekoteko Barlow has carved, which includes whalebone in the finger, ears and eyes, and it took him about a year.

“He’s our wero man. The exhibition is set up similar to how Toihoukura created exhibitions based on pōwhiri.”

Keane has been “levelling up” her curator skills. She thought about all the different aspects of exhibiting art, such as lighting, backgrounds and where each piece should be placed.

One of her favourite pieces is by Ngaire Tuhua — a celebration of being wāhine and the power women hold.

The piece is hidden by the entryway, but when moving deeper into the exhibition it holds a lot of space.

Photographs by Mike Spedding show different areas of the Land Wars in Waikato.

A collaborative mat features 15 Māori artists’ responses to the new kāwanatanga (Government).

Peter Ireland has a piece that was started in 2019 and is inspired by the letter sent to King William IV by 13 Māori chiefs from Bay of Islands in 1831.

“Having his work here feels right as he is a big supporter of young Māori artists.”

Keane has been studying raranga (weaving) at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and the exhibition includes a piece called Her — the first tāniko design she weaved.

Muriwai weaver Tui Fay’s kete and pōtai sets also feature.

Along with artworks, there is a spoken word piece by Julia Hardie, aimed at creating thoughts about the exhibition and political and world events.

Keane hopes those who visit the exhibition take their time looking at the art and discovering the different aspects of each piece.

She is moving to Auckland in the new year and thanked “the whole of Tairāwhiti” for their support and inspiration.

“The creative genius which resides here is what has fostered myself and Heremaia to become the artists we are today.”

Too much you fullas runs to December 8 at Tairāwhiti Museum.

Matai O’Connor, Ngāti Porou, has been a journalist for five years and Kaupapa Māori reporter at the Gisborne Herald for two years.