Hokianga dunes the backdrop for art projection focusing on kauri dieback

Image from Waipoua Forest projected onto a dune during a test run for Saturday’s art event. Photo / Niniwa Collective

The giant dunes of North Hokianga will form the screen for an art projection show on Saturday night exploring an environmental issue close to Northlanders' hearts.

Ōmapere artist Heather Randerson (Te Hikutu) said one of the themes of Te Whenua Tupu Ora: Niniwa Projection Event was the kauri dieback disease threatening Waipoua Forest.

''But it's also a metaphor for what's happening in our community and globally,'' she said.

The photos had been taken in Waipoua by Denise Batchelor, also from Ōmapere, and would be projected onto dunes at Te Pouahi, roughly opposite Ōpononi.

Image from Waipoua Forest projected onto a dune during a test run for Saturday’s art event. Photo / Niniwa Collective

Randerson said the event was the fruition of an idea she had 20 years ago.

She had done a test on dunes at Piha, on Auckland's west coast, to make sure it would work. A four-strong collective had been working on the project for three years.

The 12.5-minute presentation would be performed twice and includes a soundtrack of taonga puoro (traditional Māori musical instruments) played by Nopera Pikari of Rawene.

Local iwi Te Rarawa and Te Roroa were involved, as were young people working on forest restoration projects, she said.

Image from Waipoua Forest projected onto a dune during a test run for Saturday’s art event. Photo / Niniwa Collective

The images would be accompanied by live kōrero from Snow Tane (Te Roroa) and Nore Martin, who would be reading text prepared by Joe Cooper (Te Rarawa), son of Dame Whina Cooper.

Young poet Harirewa Tairaki (Te Hikutu) had written a piece for the occasion.

With a projection area of 80m x 30m the images would look huge to anyone in the four boats heading out for the show. From shore, however, viewers would need a strong pair of binoculars.

Fortunately the event would be livestreamed by Tautoko FM (tautokofm.com) so anyone could follow it online. It would also be filmed for a documentary to be shown at a later date in Hokianga.

Saturday's event will start at 7.30pm with a haka pōwhiri at Ōpononi wharf and run until about 10pm.

The other members of the collective are artist Lyn Bergquist and AUT art and design lecturer Janine Randerson.