Wahine ataahua at City Gallery
Native Eye: 21st century wahine, moko, costume and image is a provocative tangent to the 2006 World of Wearable Arts programme by artist/fashion designer Suzanne Tamaki.
Image: AOTEAROA. Land of the Wrong White Crowd (2005), Photo by Greg Semu.
City Gallery - September 9 - October 8 06Native Eye: 21st century wahine, moko, costume and image is a provocative tangent to the 2006 World of Wearable Arts programme by artist/fashion designer Suzanne Tamaki.
Image: AOTEAROA. Land of the Wrong White Crowd (2005), Photo by Greg Semu.
City Gallery - September 9 - October 8 06Ōtaki-based Tamaki wanted to make 'a beautiful, historical reproduction of moko and costume', while also giving the works a political edge through their titles: DNA: Diluted Native Aotearoa and nativebabies.com. These titles refer provocatively to the negative impact of European colonisation on Maori.
Tamaki developed a new body of work showcasing her costume designs, based on research from late nineteenth and early twentieth century photographs and painted portraits of Maori. With Auckland photographer Greg Semu she re-staged some of these historical portraits using contemporary materials. The models in the photographs include wahine ataahua and Tamaki's son Rameka.
AOTEAROA. Land of the Wrong White Crowd (2005), the central image of this exhibition, is based on the iconic Charles Goldie's painting Te Aho o te Rangi Wharepu - Ngati Mahuta.
Tamaki is of Ngati Maniapoto, Ngai Tuhoe and Te Arawa descent. She is a self-trained fibre artist with a background in making body adornment, costumes and jewellery. She has a fashion label called Native Sista and was a founding member of the Pacific Sisters fashion collective. Tamaki features in the exciting international exhibition Pasifika Styles at Cambridge University.
NATIVE SISTA FASHION SHOW
Suzanne Tamaki with MC Antsman (Rhombus) and Te Kupu (Upper Hutt Posse)
Saturday 23 September, 2pm
City Gallery Wellington, Civic Square
FREE ENTRY
City Gallery Wellington celebrates Native Eye: 21st century wahine, moko, costume and image, the Maori Writers Festival and the opening of the 2006 World of Wearable Arts with a multimedia fashion show supported with beats by local music heroes MC Antsman (Rhombus) and Te Kupu (Upper Hutt Posse). Don't miss this free fashion, art and audio feast.
The Michael Hirschfeld Gallery is proudly sponsored by DesignWorks Enterprise IG. Thanks also to Te Waka Toi, Creative New Zealand; Kapiti Coast District Council; The Learning Connexion; Colourcraft; and Publication and Design, Wellington City Council.
Image: Details
Title- Aotearoa: Land of the wrong white crowd (2005)
From the series 'Native Eye'
Model- Kahui Tahau-Blackler
Photographed by Greg Semu
Courtesy of the artist
'Native Eye: 21st century wahine, moko, costume and image'
9 September-8 October 2006
Michael Hirschfeld Gallery, City Gallery Wellington
www.citygallery.org.nz