About the Exhibition

Whare Ngaro is a pivotal exhibition that unapologetically addresses the kaupapa of infertility through a wahine Māori lens. Visceral, powerful and confronting, the exhibition leans into the uncomfortable and provokes dialogue about wāhine and their intimate relationship with whakapapa.   

Within Māori tribal cosmo-genealogical narratives there are two sources of the fructifying power associated with Hine-ahu-one: one associated with Hawaiki; the other with Kurawaka. It is the latter that is manifest in ngā whakaahua o Te Whare Ngaro exhibition in which red chromatic symbolism is a provocation of a broken lineage; a failure to maintain whakapapa, and with it, an erasure of a tūpuna lineage.  

Kōkōwai from Kurawaka, the fertile region of Papatūānuku, is captured within the lens of the camera in multiple guises as te hau o Tawhiri (the wind-blown dust), te Rangitoto o Ruaumoko (the molten lava of the volcanic deity), te toto o Hine-ahu-one (the blood of Hine the earth formed maiden), te tapu o Karihi (the sanctity of the vagina) and ngā wai tapu (the sacred waters) invested with ihi and the potential for procreation and conception. 

About the Artist

Ashleigh Zimmerman (Kai Tahu) is an artist and Art Educator based in Whangārei. Her lens-based practice intersects with whenua/uku practice, and explores connections to Papatūānuku in relation to her identity as a wahine Māori. As an educator, Ashleigh is passionate about fostering an encouraging rangatahi to develop their own voice in their art as a vehicle to express their own identity and unique experiences. 

Zimmerman completed a Master of Māori Visual Art through Toioho ki Āpiti at Massey University, developing mahi that communicates a sense of suspended animation in Te Kore as a metaphor for her infertility haerenga. Connecting to kaupapa such as whakapapa, whare ngaro, and tinana sovereignty, her work aims to highlight the vulnerable and mamae experiences in efforts to whakanoa wahine’s experiences in this space. Zimmerman uses light painting techniques along with elemental subject matter to capture intimate and universal narratives with an ethereal quality.  

@zim_made_mahi