Gallery banishes artwork for unlucky Maori word

By ANGELA GREGORY

Artwork which uses the Maori word for death will be removed from an Auckland exhibition after things started to go wrong at a city gallery.

Xan Edwards had sprayed "nga mate" with Santa snow in large lettering on the window of Te Taumata Gallery in Symonds St.

Edwards said it was a double play on the English word "mate" and reflected both his Maori and European heritage.

Edwards said he had been told to remove the work on just the second day of the exhibition after a burglary at the gallery. He resented the censorship, saying he was attempting to break free of traditional Maori art.

Gallery manager Hinu Te Hau confirmed that she had asked Edwards yesterday to remove the writing after two incidents which she was concerned related to the improper use of the word "mate".

She would not discuss the first incident because it involved staff. The second was the burglary at the gallery on Wednesday night, when two digital cameras were stolen.

"I'm superstitious at the best of times ... It was tempting fate."

Hinu Te Hau said there would be other Maori who would not appreciate Edwards' use of their word for dead or death.

The assistant manager who first approved the artwork, Harry Rickitt, said it had successfully explored the power that words could have upon a culture. But he agreed that it now had to be removed.

"As soon as I heard about the burglary I thought it was not a good idea to tempt things."