June 25, 2019
Artwork sews together Māori collective
Four wāhine Māori artists are on their way to Paris to talk about ancient Māori sewing technique and they way they have gone about reviving it.
Sarah Hudson, Erana Baker, Bridget Reweti and Terri Te Tau make up Mata Aho Collective, whose 11 metre installation of sewn blue tarpaulins, Kiko Moana, is part of the Oceania Exhibition of 170 contemporary and traditional artworks for Aotearoa and the Pacific now on show at the Muse'e du Quai Branly in the French capital.
Hudson says while rāranga is alive and well, there are few examples of traditional Māori sewing.
This weekend is a chance to talk about making art as a collective.
" We live all across the North island and get together as a collective about once a month to make work together and talk about work and generally wānanga. We see collective art making and collective life as being a Māori way of life," Hudson says.
The trip is also a chance to see taonga Māori held by the museum, including artefacts collected by Captain Cook on his voyages 250 years ago.
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