Robyn Kahukiwa, Hinetītama, 1980, Collection of Te Manawa Art Society.
Robyn Kahukiwa, Hinetītama, 1980, Collection of Te Manawa Art Society.
A new exhibition at Palmerston North’s Te Manawa Museum features the extraordinary works of one of Aotearoa’s most celebrated artists, Robyn Kahukiwa.
Tohunga Mahi Toi celebrates Kahukiwa’s esteemed status and expertise as an artist both locally and internationally and recognises her lifelong dedication to her art.
Her work has profoundly impacted Māori culture, offering both beauty and strength while providing deep insights into mātauranga (traditional knowledge).
Kahukiwa’s works are multi-layered, inter-generational stories that are integral to the cultural landscape of Aotearoa.
Robyn Kahukiwa, Hinetītama, 1980, Collection of Te Manawa Art Society.
Through her art, Kahukiwa expresses Māori narratives and perspectives with the recognition and weight they deserve.
This exhibition began with an idea by Jaenine Parkinson, director of Te Pūkenga Whakaata New Zealand Portrait Gallery, to represent Kahukiwa’s watershed Wāhine Toa series from the early 1980s for a new generation and reenact a national tour, bringing these important paintings to as many people as possible.
The series depicts archetypal women from creation narratives, such as Papatūānuku, Taranga and Mahuika, as powerful and self-determining figures who told their own stories.
Te Manawa curator Roma Pōtiki says Kahukiwa’s work has been particularly uplifting and, in some cases, life-changing for Māori women.
“The political nature and commentary of her work bring to the fore, with clarity, issues affecting much of our society. Her work has become, in a way, an alternate visual rendering of Aotearoa’s history, through the lens of a Māori woman.”
E Kore e Hekeheke he Kaikana Rangatira by Robyn Kahukiwa
To bring this regional, touring exhibition together was a lengthy but engaging process that involved the skills of staff across both organisations. The team were art detectives, sleuthing to find some works, particularly those in private ownership.
A nationwide campaign was launched, and clues were followed to find missing Kahukiwa artworks with some found works becoming part of Tohunga Mahi Toi. Certain artworks can only be seen at Te Manawa Museum leg of the tour which opens on Saturday, December 7, while others remain elusive.
Pōtiki is proud to be able to show the remarkable contributions Kahukiwa has made to art and culture at both Te Manawa Museum and as the exhibition tours.
Hine Pukenga by Robyn Kahukiwa
“Let us acclaim Robyn Kahukiwa. Let us celebrate her art. Let us celebrate the weaving of whakapapa and whānau that she presents us, and entwined with that, always the raising of the wide-reaching capabilities of women. Let us celebrate her gift and her great determination.”
