Exhibitions » Exhibition Archive » Deane Gallery Archive » Maiden Aotearoa
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Suzanne Tamaki, For God, For Queen, For Country, 2010. Photographer: Norman Heke. Image courtesy of the artist.
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Vicky Thomas, Poi III (Miss Appropriate Series), 2004. Colour LED mounted print. Image courtesy of the artist.
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Aimee Ratana, Tuhoe, 2008. Framed photograph. Image courtesy of the artist.
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Maiden Aotearoa, installation view Deane Gallery 2011. Photo: Andrew Beck.
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Maiden Aotearoa installation view, Deane Gallery 2011. Photo: Andrew Beck.
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Maiden Aotearoa installation view, Deane Gallery 2011. Photo: Andrew Beck.
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Maiden Aotearoa, Deane Gallery 2011. Photo: Andrew Beck.
Maiden Aotearoa
21 May - 26 June 2011 in the Deane Gallery
Photographic postcards depicting Māori and Pacific peoples during the nineteenth and early twentieth-century often reinforced pre-existing Western perceptions of the ‘noble savage’. Polynesian women in particular were presented as primitive, sexually provocative curios—objects of desire. These images promoted racist and sexist attitudes, some of which are perpetuated today through the media. Maiden Aotearoa looks at four contemporary responses to the ‘dusky maiden’ stereotype in Aotearoa New Zealand.
For photographer Sarah Hudson the anonymity of the sitter is the most chilling aspect of these types of images. Hudson shrouds the faces of these unknown Māori maidens within a black veil. Alluding to the incomplete and disingenuous nature of such depictions, Hudson’s art speaks to the invisibility of the exotic Other, as well as the refusal of the early colonial photographer to acknowledge the indigenous subject as anything more than a specimen.
Aimee Ratana looks at the customary use of photography within the conceptual framework of the whare-tūpuna (ancestral house). Ratana affords ancestral images the same prestige as carved ancestral figures. Ratana states, ‘I believe that my ancestors hold more integrity than what a photographer is able to take from them.’
Vicky Thomas’ series of self-portraits titled Miss Appropriate present a twenty-first century Māori maiden clad is black stiletto heels with piupiu (flax skirt) swirling securely around her waist. Thomas' works respond to historical (mis)appropriations of Māori imagery to present a contemporary image of wāhine-toa (women of strength).
Wāhine-toa feature prominently in the art work of fibre artist Suzanne Tamaki, who uses fashion to agitate discussions about indigenous issues in Aotearoa New Zealand. In her Treaty of Why Tangi series two staunchly posed Māori women adorn Tamaki's latest garments which appear to be crafted from the remnants of a dishevelled New Zealand flag. Here Tamaki positions Māori culture as being literally 'made in' Aotearoa as a contemporary assertion of indigeneity, and uses the flag as a political statement, where by the indigenous peoples of this land have chosen to adorn the cloak of the Crown, but do so with their own unique sense of style and appropriateness.
The art works in Maiden Aotearoa are acts of empowerment, of reclamation, of mana-wāhine. Mana-wāhine complicates a dominant Western understanding of Feminism by positioning an indigenous ideology at its core. Maiden Aotearoa places Māori values and perceptions of female gender roles/identity at the fore and gives voice to four wāhine-toa who use art to make statements about ownership, belonging, and tangata whenuatanga (people of the land).
Artists' Biographies
Sarah Hudson (Ngāti Awa, Tūhoe) completed a Masters in Fine Arts with high distinction through Massey University, Wellington in 2009 and was the first Fine Arts student to be awarded the Whakatāne Historical Society Scholarship.
Aimee Ratana (Ngai Tūhoe) completed a Masters in Māori Visual Arts at Massey University, Palmerston North in 2006. Her works are exhibited nationally and she was a finalist in the 2005 Trust Waikato Contemporary Art Awards.
Suzanne Tamaki (Ngāti Maniapoto, Tūhoe, Te Arawa) is a fibre artist who operates under the label Native Sista. She was one of the founding members of the Pacific Sisters fashion collective and is a registered user of the Toi Iho Māori Made Mark.
Vicky Thomas (Ngāti Kahu, Pākehā, Irish, Welsh) completed a Bachelor of Design (Honours) majoring in Photography in 2005 from Unitec, Auckland and currently manages Kura Gallery in Auckland.
Public Events
Artists' Talk—Aimee Ratana, Sarah Hudson, Vicky Thomas and Suzanne Tamaki
Saturday 21 May, 2pm
Lecture—Dr. Jo Smith
Friday 10 June, 12:30pm