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Mobile Māori weaving exhibition arrives in Titirangi

Te Uru is pleased to present a suite of three installations by renowned sculptor and weaver, Maureen Lander, whose exhibition Flat-Pack Whakapapa opens at Te Uru in Titirangi on 11 August.

Building on the notion that our whakapapa (ancestry) is always with us, Maureen Lander’s installations can be packed down into individual woven pieces: easily carried around, reconfigured and added onto later. This approach symbolises how whakapapa grows with us, and how our genealogy is inherited by our descendants, who continue our lines of heritage. 

“Maureen Lander is a pivotal figure in developing raranga and other fibre-based practices within the field of contemporary art”, says Te Uru Director Andrew Clifford. “She has been an important mentor to many artists and has shown the continued relevance these crafts have in our ever-changing world.”

“Te Uru has a long history of working with weavers, including Maureen Lander. We were jealous when we heard about this great project Maureen has developed with The Dowse, so we’re excited to be bringing it to Titirangi”.

Flat-Pack Whakapapa also explores the connections between whakapapa and raranga (Māori weaving). Approaching these forms of human connection from a matauranga Māori perspective (Māori knowledge), Lander engages with weaving techniques—including whiri (braiding) and whakairo (patterning)—and the concept of aho tuku iho (ancestral lines handed down continuously from generation to generation).

The exhibition at Te Uru will also include two new installations made in collaboration with local weavers and school children. Developed both during and over the course of the exhibition, these new works continue Lander’s interest in how to address customary ideas in relevant ways for newer generations.

Flat-Pack Whakapapa is developed and toured by The Dowse Art Museum, who presented the exhibition in Lower Hutt, Wellington in 2017.

Flat-Pack Whakapapa runs at Te Uru from 11 August – 18 November 2018
Exhibition opening: Saturday 11 August, 4pm

Artist Talk with Maureen Lander: Saturday 11 August, 3pm

Hours: 10am – 4.30pm daily
Address: 420 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, Auckland
Website: www.teuru.org.nz