Current video
Antonia Van Sitter, Mānawatia te Whenua, Mānawatia te Tangata (2024)
Digital video, sound, 4 minutes and 19 seconds
24 July – 2 August 2024
E huri ō pūkanohi ki ō tūpareparehua, ki ō wai-kaukau, ki ō whenua tāngaengae hei oranga motuhenga mōu, mō ngā whakareanga ā-haere ake nei.
A series of drawings by the artist are laid over an excerpt from the 2014 short film Ahī Ka. The film is based on Manupirua Bay on the edge of Lake Rotoiti, where the artist grew up. Her whānau are the kaitiaki of the natural geothermal springs that exist as a living entity belonging and connecting to both the land and the people. The combining of the older film with Van Sitter's contemporary drawings suggests the concept of continuous occupation through the burning of fires.
Antonia Van Sitter (Te Māhurehure, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Whakaue) is an artist based in Wellington. Mānawatia te Whenua, Mānawatia te Tangata was curated by Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka (Ngā Puhi, Ngati Pakau and Waitaha) for Matariki 2024. Commissioned by Wellington City Council and CIRCUIT.