Tihei mauri ora!

Ko tōku mihi tuatahi ki kā mātua onamata, kōrua ko Rakinui, ko Papatūānuku, kōrua tahi e manaaki nei i a mātou. Tēnā kōrua.

Ka huri taku aro ki ōku tūpuna whakahirahira, koutou i whakataumaha, koutou i whāwhai kia ora nei te iwi. Nō koutou te toto i heke, nō koutou kā tini kōrero e rere tonu nei i ō mātou waha. Tēnei te whakawhētai atu ki a koutou.

Tēnei te reo o mihi ki a koutou e ōku pouwhirinaki, te hāpai o muri. Koutou ko kā tākata pūkeka, kā tini haratau i āwhina nei. Nā koutou te mana, nā koutou kā hua o ōku mahi.

Ka rere taku mihi whakawhētai ki tōku whānau, ki ōku hoa e tautoko nei i ahau. Tēnei te mihi matakuikui mai i te manawa ki a koutou i tō koutou aroha, tō koutou mānawanawa mai ki au. Kāore e mutu ngā mihi ki a koutou.

Nō reira, i ruka i te hau o mihi, tēnā rawa atu koutou katoa.

‘Ko te nōhonga o mua ko Papa, ko te whariki. Na te taenga mai o tauiwi ka kitea pea a Tūrū. Ka noho a Tūrū hei nohonga, hei paepae,a na wai ra. Ka wareware tatou mo whariki, mo papa. Ko Tūrū te timatatanga o te noho wehe o taua te tangata ki a Papa? Kua taretare a whariki na te kore noho mai o tou, o kumu?’

Ko nga mahi o Turumeke he mahi e ahu nei ki tone whakapapa, Ngai Tahu, Kati Mamoe mai, Pakeha mai. Ko enei o ana mahi he mea tuhura, he mea wetewete i tenei mea o te noho Maori, noho Pakeha hoki. No reira ka tika tana waihanga whakahoahoa i enei Tūrū, he tohu mo ona taha e rua.

‘In the past seats were either Papa or a whariki, when Europeans arrived someone must have seen chair. Chair suddenly replaced the whariki and Papa. Was Chair the beginning of our separation from Papa? Are our whariki tattered because bums no longer sit on them?’

Turumeke's work investigates her whakapapa, her Ngai Tahu, Kati Mamoe and European whakapapa. So a chair is a fitting symbol of her whakapapa, of colonisation, and of our separation from Papa the earth.

– Ati Teepa, 2017

Whai Whakapapa: Te Tuatahi transcends time and place. This exhibition is a chance to remember the past and look into the future of Māori customary art practices and materials.Turumeke Harrington’s furniture, soft furnishings, wearable pieces and design objects are the result of the study of the whakapapa (genealogy) of whānau and creation (art/ design/ craft). Using modern design and manufacturing processes Harrington draws parallels between Māori and Pākehā lineages, between traditional and contemporary design processes.

!Ngā mihi!

Jesse & Pia Hill, Kiri Jarden, Jonathan Harrington, Sarah Amazinnia, Paula Rigby, Tatyanna Meharry, the contributors to ‘HOPEFULL Vol. One’, Creative New Zealand, Studio One Toi Tū, Maree Henry, Emma Wallbanks, supporting manufacturers, Ati Teepa, Kommi Tamati, and my whānau and friends.