April 23, 2024
Whariki concept transcends space and time
A member of the Mataaho Collective says winning a Golden Lion at the 60th Venice Biennale is a victory not just for the four artists also their iwi and hapū.
Erena Arapere-Baker, Sarah Hudson, Bridget Reweti and Terri Te Tau won the prestigious award for Takapau, a large scale woven environment.
Sarah Hudson says the work was originally commissioned for Te Papa Tongarewa, and they disassembled it at the national museum in February and installed it at the Venice Arsenale in the Corderie, a former rope factory.
She says the combination of modern and traditional rāranga patterns rendered with modern materials like car tie down strops and high tension ratchets created an impressive effect and also brought their whānau and identity into the gallery.
“Really loved how whāriki dictate space, they can totally change the tapu of a situation or lift that. And then the whāriki get rolled up and put away and that’s the end of the thing. So we wanted to play with the idea, with those amazing ideas that we’re used to in our culture,” she says.