HORIZONS PRESENTED BY CHAPMAN TRIPP

Curated by Te Ara Minhinnick

Hoa haere i te Ao brings together works from a wide range of Māori artists, each contributing pieces made to be worn. The title references an expression of commitment often shared after receiving moko: “hoa haere i te ao, i te pō”, a companion that is with me throughout life and death. In this context, the sentiment is extended to the toi we wear, carry, and gift: taonga tuku iho.

Image: Artist, Pepi-Joy Gilgen. Photographer, Rāwhai Wetere

In the words of the curator Te Ara:

“This thinking comes from years of watching the aunties and uncles arrive to kaupapa adorned in whakakai, kākahu, and other forms of toi. I’m interested in what we reach for before a hui, a hīkoi, a show. How might these taonga become extensions of ourselves? Sometimes protective. Sometimes a declaration. An act of sovereignty. A protest. And sometimes, just part of the fit.”

Together, the artists invite us to consider collecting as a practice of carrying, continuing, and gifting – to wear these pieces, to live with them, to hand them forward.