Canon of Cool

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Introduction

In this technical skills lesson, we meet the Mata Aho Collective, a collaboration between four Māori women who produce large scale fibre based works, commenting on the complexity of Māori lives.

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  1. Meet Mata Aho Collective

    Mata Aho Collective is made up of Erena Baker (Te Atiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangātira), Sarah Hudson (Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe), Bridget Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi), and Terri Te Tau (Rangitāne ki Wairarapa), all who live in Aotearoa New Zealand. According to Mata, 2014, their conceptual framework is founded within the contemporary realities of mātauranga Māori (traditional knowledge of Māori). They produce works with a single collective authorship that are bigger than their individual capabilities.

    The collective have completed many projects over the years, with their work, ‘Kiko Moana’, being developed for documenta 14 in Kassel Germany, 2017. Kiko is a word that means the substance of something, referring to a body such as meat or flesh, while moana refers to the ocean. As they discuss, Kiko Moana is made from blue tarpaulin, a material that is common in their homes and communities, allowing people to come into this space and recognise and connect with it. 

    Meet Mata Aho Collective

    Mata Aho Collective, Kiko Moana at documenta 14 in Kassel Germany, 2017

  2. Altogether, the piece is made of 16 layers, with 60 tarps all up, and sewn on an angle where it has then been slashed to create texture. The conceptual basis of the work is formed around the idea of taniwha, a creature that lives in the water. Through the plastic tarpaulin, they materialise the taniwha, having tough skin to combat poor water quality, not only a local situation but a wider global situation which the work is spreading awareness of. 

    Overall, the piece looks at a few characteristics. The first is taniwha travel, where a taniwha, which is a guardian, oversees and takes care of different waterways, including international waters. Taniwha are also communicators, where they can communicate a warning to people, bringing stories from the homes of Mata Aho Collective, while allowing the stories of others around the world to bring theirs. This can be seen through peoples amazing responses around their own narratives of taniwhas, found on (Taniwha Tales (kikomoana.com)).

    Mata Aho Collective 2

    Mata Aho Collective laying on Kiko Moana

More work by Mata Aho Collective

  1. More work by Mata Aho Collective

    Mata Aho Collective, and only sea (2019)

  1. More work by Mata Aho Collective 2

    Mata Aho Collective, Aka, 2019

  1. More work by Mata Aho Collective 3

    Mata Aho Collective, Mahuika, 2019

Let's do something!

Watch these videos on the Mata Aho Collective and how they materialise their ideas to comment on the complexity of Māori lives.

Artists of Oceania: Mata Aho Collective - youtube

Extended interview with Mata Aho Collective and Maureen Lander - youtube

Citations

Mata. (2014). Mata Aho Collective. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from Mata Aho Collective website: About — Mata Aho Collective

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Areta Wilkinson

Technical Skills

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