Tēnei te otinga tū
Artists: Shannon Te Ao and Ngā Uki o te Mounga
Saturday 8 June - Sunday 6 October 2024
The 2024 Matariki Courtenay Place light boxes outdoor exhibition, Tēnei te otinga tū, celebrates the centenary of local poi manu group Ngā uki o te mounga, in their second collaboration with local artist Shannon Te Ao (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Wairangi, Te Pāpaka-o-Māui).
The images presented within the lightboxes have been made using combinations of photographic techniques, digital video, projection and live performance.
Shannon says one of the fun challenges of the project was to try and reflect visually what is primarily a sonic and physical medium.
“Alongside this, the story of Ngā uki o te mounga stretches over a century, involving generations of people across an expansive geography.
“This series is a photographic response that in many ways conflates these elements. The visual language at play with this series is stretched and layered simultaneously. The resulting images evoke a deep physical presence within the setting of Courtenay Place and essentially aim to highlight the potential of art and poi to direct one’s sense of place within a context that can, if we are open to it, connect us to much more than that which is in plain sight.”
The outdoor public exhibition located at 77-97 Courtenay Place in central Wellington runs until early October.
About the artist: Shannon Te Ao
Te Ao’s recent film and photographic works conflate markers of place, movement, and experience. Often elegiac in tone, imagery within his work reflects upon personal narratives, historical events, and collaboration as a means to explore Māori thought and experience.
Te Ao has exhibited widely nationally and internationally and teaches at Whiti o Rehua School of Art, CoCA Toi Rauwharangi, Wellington-Whanganui-a-Tara NZ. He holds a BFA from University of Auckland's Elam School of Fine Arts and an MFA from Massey University.
He has recently completed commissions for The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10) QAGOMA Brisbane and 13th Gwangju Biennale: Minds Rising Spirits Turning in 2021. Te Ao recently presented solo exhibitions at REMAI Modern (Saskatoon); Oakville Galleries (Toronto), and Te Uru (Tamaki Makaurau Auckland). In 2022 Te Ao curated the exhibition Matarau at City Gallery Wellington.