Whakapapa IV

Whakapapa IV

Ko tēnei karahuinga rākau i hua mai i tētehi terenga mahi e tūhura ana i te tikanga o te whakapapa: he tāhuhu torowhānui hei whakamārama i ngā tikanga o te ao e noni nei tātou, waihoki ko hōna hononga ki ngā mea katoa i taiao, i tātai tuarangi hoki. Ka ara te tihi o te taonga nei i te papa, pērā i te wharenui, i te maunga rānei, he arawhata ki ngā rangi tūhāhā; hei whakatinana i te whakapapa.

Ka raranga a Whakapapa IV i te reo o toi whakairo, o tukutuku, o tāniko hoki. Ko ngā tapatoru e whā e whakairo ana i te nihoniho, te niho taniwha rānei - e kaha kitea ana tēnei whakairo i ngā mahi tāniko me ngā mahi tukutuku hei tohu i te kaha, i te pūmau, i ngā kāwai ariki hoki. E whātoro ana ki te rangi ngā āhua tū tangata e whā, hei tohu i te reo o te poupou. He poutama e taiāwhio ana i ngā whakairo hei tohu i te whāingaroatanga o te kura kia mau, kia tupu tonu.

E rongonui ana a Paratene Matchitt mo tāna whakamahi i ngā mihini whakamāeneene i ngā wahie taratara kia hua mai ko ngā rārangi, ngā pito me ngā ānau hoki. Ka whakanuia e Matchitt ki hāna taputapu hiko, a Te Kooti, te kaihanga i te hāhu Ringatū, me te kaiwhakaawe i te iwi ki ngā hangarau me ngā whakaaro o te Pākehā. Nā te whakapapa o roto i hēnei kura auaha i matipere i ngā waihanga ake a Matchitt.

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This wooden assemblage is part of a series of works that explores the concept of whakapapa: a holistic framework for the explanation and order of the world we live in that connects us to each other, our environment and the cosmos. The peak of this work rises from the ground like that of a wharenui (meeting house) or maunga (mountain), implying itself as a bridge between the earthly and the spiritual realms; as a physical expression of whakapapa.

Whakapapa IV weaves and transforms the visual languages of toi whakairo, tukutuku and tāniko. The four interlocking triangles make a nihoniho (tooth of the taniwha)—a weaving pattern seen in tāniko and tukutuku that has associations of strength, stability and chiefly lines of descent. Reaching skywards are four tū tangata figures, part of the figurative language of poupou—carved ancestors in the meeting house. They are bordered by poutama (step pattern) symbolic of the pursuit of knowledge and growth.

Paratene Matchitt is known for his use of power tools on rough saw timber to achieve finely tuned lines, edges and curves. In his choice of materials, tools and symbolism, Matchitt makes reference to Te Kooti, the founder of the Ringatū faith, and his encouragement of the adoption of imported technologies and ideas. The knowledge of this whakapapa became a springboard for Matchitt’s own creative output.

— Text developed for Te Hau Whakatonu: A Series of Never-ending Beginnings (5 August 2023–11 February 2024), curated by Taarati Taiaroa