Mana Tipua Tuku Iho
Artists: Louie Zalk-Neale
Curator:Jaimie Waititi
Saturday 16 November 2024 – Sunday 9 February 2025
Mana Tipua Tuku Iho is a series of photographic visualisations that depict takatāpui embodying Mana Tipua in and around the waters of Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
Mana Tipua Tuku Iho is a re-imagining of Wiremu Grace's telling of the Ngake and Whātaitai story by trans takatāpui artist Louie Zalk-Neale (Ngai Te Rāngi). Takatāpui, transgender people and the LGBTQIA+ communities are seen as fundamental to a thriving society. “We are a tohu that tāngata embody the expansive diversity within te ao; our limitless ways are reflected in the ngāhere (forest), the mōana (sea), the rangi (sky) and the whēnua (land).”
In Grace's pūrākau (Māori story/legend), Whātaitai dies, his body turns to stone and his wairua (spirit) rises as a female manu (winged creature), Te Keo. Zalk-Neale identifies this as a moment in pūrākau Māori where transgenderism is expressed in whenua (land) and in the rangi (sky). This is the core foundation on which te exhibition Mana Tipua Tuku Iho is based. The exhibition describes the mauri whakawhiti (life force transfer) as the ancient shapeshifting energy that pulsates through the bodies of taniwha and tipua, guiding takatāpui through transformation and ascension.
Adjacent to Ngake and Whātaitai, Louie Zalk-Neale highlights Tī Kōuka (Cabbage tree), its resistance to deterioration in natural elements and its strength to maintain its structural integrity. Tī Kōuka is shapeshifting in meaning, form and use as every part of the rākau (tree) can be used to make taura (rope), kupenga (nets), kai and fragrances. The diversity of Tī Kōuka is an immediate reflection of the diversity found in the expression of takatāpui and our communities.
Mana Tipua Tuku Iho weaves Ngake and Whataitai together with Tī Kōuka to bring a harmonious expression of mana whakawhiti through the bodies and stories of takatāpui in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
The outdoor public exhibition located at 77-97 Courtenay Place in central Wellington runs until early February 2025.
About the artist: Louie Zalk_Neale (Ngāi Te Rangi, Pākehā)
Louie is a trans takatāpui artist based in Ōtaki. A close bond with the tī kōuka (cabbage tree) guides their art practice, which involves forming taura (ropes) and aquatic taonga to activate in performances. Zalk-Neale’s taura tether gender-fluidity to the shapeshifting powers seen in pūrākau Māori, reinforcing a vision of queerness as an indicator of healthy natural and cultural systems. They have presented projects with organisations including Govett-Brewster, Taipei Performing Arts Center, Māoriland, soft shell (Te Tuhi), Artspace Aotearoa, and Performance Art Week Aotearoa. As a recipient of a 2024 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Springboard Award, Zalk-Neale's mahi toi will continue to shine with mentorship from Mataaho Collective artist Bridget Reweti.
Curator bio:
Jaimie Waititi (Te Whanau a Apanui, Ngāti Porou, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi with French Canadian, English, Scottish, Norwegian, White American heritage) is an artist, art producer and art director born and raised in Te Whānau a Apanui iwi. Jaimie studied a BFA at Whitecliffe College of Fine Arts, Tāmaki Makaurau and worked as a freelancing artist and art producer until Lockdown opened. There Jaimie joined Aotearoa Savage K'lub and is currently the Executive Producer and FAFSWAG art collective and Co-Director of Art Production company Te Kapua Studios. Jaimie lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara and is the Exhibition Coordinator at Toi Pōneke Arts Centre.