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Kahurangiariki Smith is many things; fine arts student, artist, storyteller, video game developer and most importantly, advocate for indigenous art.

Her debut solo exhibition, MāoriGrl, combines installation and a role-playing platformer video game that reinvents the story of Hine-tītama /Hine-nui-te-pō, the woman who became the goddess of death in Māori mythology.

The game MāoriGrl serves as a contrasting visual reference to the original story, with bright colours, a nostalgic wide-screen format, and abstract landscapes to create a naïve atmosphere.

Smith has specially designed and built a whare, which will be installed inside the Main Gallery. To engage with the game, the viewer must assume the position of a child, sitting on a mat inside the whare, much like the girl in MāoriGrl would.

In the traditional telling, Hine-tītama is the daughter of Hineahuone who was formed from the earth and Tāne. Hine-tītama ultimately became Hine-nui-te-pō, the goddess of death, when she fled to the underworld after discovering that her husband Tāne was also her father. With the ability to give life as Hine-tītama and take life as Hine-nui-te-pō, Hine-nui-te-pō's narrative has been twisted over time and misunderstood by many.

As Smith explains, “Through telling Hine-nui-te-pō’s story in this video game, I plan to bring her story to life in a way that is accessible and engaging to a younger audience who may be unfamiliar with Hine-nui-te-pō’s story, as well as older generations who have missed out on learning about atua wāhine.”

Smith is ecstatic to have MāoriGrl included in the Matariki Festival 2018 programme, “It feels fitting to open my first public show during Matariki, celebrating atua wāhine, Māori knowledge and community within such a transformative time. I hope our old stories can resonate with people of all ages and backgrounds. To be able to share these stories is an honour.”

The title and essence of MāoriGrl is derived from renowned author and researcher Dr. Aroha Yates-Smith’s thesis Hine, E Hine!: Rediscovering the Feminine in Maori Spirituality.

Yates-Smith’s thesis explored different Māori goddesses from pre-colonial times and sought to further support a spiritual connection back to these atua wāhine in an effort to restore the balance between the feminine and the masculine, at all levels of Maori society.

Kahurangiariki Smith and Dr. Aroha Yates-Smith will team up for a special artist talk on Sunday 8 July, to discuss the development of the video game MāoriGrl in relation to Yates-Smith’s thesis.

Together they will expand on the story of Hine-nui-te-pō and other atua wāhine presence in today’s world. The discussion will focus on the reciprocal interaction of ancestors and descendants taking care of the environment, and the relevance of atua wāhine in Aotearoa’s society today.

Join Kahurangiariki Smith and the Depot Artspace team for the opening of MāoriGrl on Saturday 23 June, 2:00 – 3:30pm in the Main Gallery.

MāoriGrl will be on display from 23 June – 11 July 2018 in the Main Gallery, 28 Clarence St, Devonport.