4.2

TANGATA WHENUA

Robyn Kahukiwa
Robyn Kahukiwa
15.09.23–14.10.23
In Tangata Whenua, esteemed artist Robyn Kahukiwa returns to themes of long-standing importance to her: mana motuhake, mana wāhine, and mana whenua. Her works speak out against colonialism and its ongoing effects, and advocate self-determination and sovereignty.
Incarcerated directly expresses an appalling statistic: that Māori make up 50% of the prison population in New Zealand despite comprising only 14% of the total population. The piece counters popular notions of New Zealand as a place of racial harmony and justice, and emphasises a devastating impact of colonisation in Aotearoa. The significance of the tattoos on the faces of the wāhine in many of Kahukiwa’s latest works is outlined in Survivor. Moko kauae express the mana and whakapapa of those who carry them; teardrop tattoos are often worn by people who have passed through the prison system in New Zealand. Cause and Effect draws a connection between homelessness and colonisation, which entailed horrific violence and resulted in many Māori being dispossessed of their land, and alienated from their culture and heritage. The tino rangatiratanga flag at the centre of the work serves as a symbol of endurance and reclamation. The paintings and drawings of the Sovereign series make reference to emblems of Māori sovereignty, such as the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tirene (1835), the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand, in which rangatira asserted their sovereignty over Aotearoa. The series also includes motifs familiar from other recent works by Kahukiwa—for instance, the huia, which refers to rangatiratanga and mana, and the head-like maunga, which emphasises connections to whenua and whakapapa ties that are unbroken and unbreakable. Taken as a whole, Tangata Whenua is a testament to Kahukiwa’s unwavering commitment to uplifting and empowering Māori through her art.

ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Sovereign, 2023
Sovereign series
Acrylic on cotton canvas in custom sapele frame
900 x 700mm
ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Māori Never Ceded Sovereignty to the Crown, 2023
Sovereign series
Acrylic on cotton canvas in custom sapele frame
700 x 900mm

ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Cause and Effect, 2023
Acrylic on canvas in custom sapele frame
760 x 760mm

ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Survivor, 2022
Acrylic on linen in custom sapele frame
550 x 700mm
ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Incarcerated, 2022
Acrylic on cotton canvas in custom sapele frame
900 x 700mm
He Whānau Toi
The recent work of Robyn Kahukiwa
This essay looks at some key works produced by Robyn Kahukiwa—Ngāti Hau, Ngāti Konohi, Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare, Te Whānau-a-Te Aotawarirangi, Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti—from 2021 to 2023, discussing them in the context of her practice as a whole. Many of the pieces treated were included in two solo exhibitions: Tangata Whenua (2023–24) at Season in Tāmaki Makaurau and CoCA Centre of Contemporary Art Toi Moroki in Ōtautahi, and Mana Māori Motuhake (2022) at Season. Brief mention is made of Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present (2023), which included a substantial presentation of work by Kahukiwa and represented a significant acknowledgement of her standing within the international art world.
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ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Still Sovereign, 2023
Sovereign series
Coloured pencil on paper framed behind Artglass AR 70
560 x 370mm
ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Hapū, 2022
Coloured pencil on paper framed behind Artglass AR 70
355 x 200mm (image)
420 x 297mm (paper)

ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Upoko Māori, 2015
Graphite on paper framed behind Artglass AR 70
360 x 410mm (image)
ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Māori Flag of Independence, 2023
Sovereign series
Coloured pencil on paper framed behind Artglass AR 70
390 x 560mm
ROBYN KAHUKIWA
He Whakaputanga, 2023
Sovereign series
Coloured pencil on paper framed behind Artglass AR 70
390 x 560mm

ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Te Whaea me te Tamaiti, 2022
Coloured pencil on paper framed behind Artglass AR 70
235 x 280mm (image)
297 x 420mm (paper)

ROBYN KAHUKIWA
Upoko, 2023
Coloured pencil on paper framed behind Artglass AR 70
420 x 297mm