Back to All Events

Ngā kai a Matariki, nāna i ao ake ki runga


 

The food supplies of Matariki, scooped up.

27 June - end of August

Whairepo Lagoon

Hemi Macgregor (Rakaipaaka, Ngati Kahungunu, Tuhoe)

Hemi Macgregor is a Māori visual artist who works across sculpture, painting, installation, video and public art. Indigenous relationships and collaborative projects are central tenets in his work enabling him to establish robust indigenous networks through art and creativity.

The WAITUHI public art project takes place every year. Māori artists from across the Wellington region are invited to submit designs for flags that will be raised on the 8 flag poles that face Whairepo Lagoon. Flag designs respond to this prominent site on the waterfront and to Matariki as a time to come together, to reflect and remember, to farewell the past year and welcome in the new.   

 This year, local artist, Hemi Macgregor (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tūhoe), Senior Lecturer, Whiti o Rehua School of Art, Massey University has designed the flag series, titled Ngā kai a Matariki, nāna i ao ake ki runga – The food supplies of Matariki, scooped up. 

“Toi is both a reminder and an enabler for us as Māori, much of the forms in our mahi toi remind us of our kaitiaki role within te taiao, a role of responsibility. For this project, I am delving into the interconnectedness of harvesting kai with the setting of the Matariki cluster and its reappearance in winter, which determines the abundance of the coming year. “

Hemi Macgregor’s flags are bold and graphic, designed to draw attention to this space and for viewers to consider their meaning and connection to Matariki. 

 
 
 
Earlier Event: 27 June
Pū Rākau mataono ara toi
Later Event: 27 June
Korero Mai with Liz Mellish