Gisborne photographer Josie McClutchie (left) and Professor Holly Thorpe at the Out of the Darkness exhibition at Hinepare Marae in Rangitukia in May. The exhibition is now open to the public at He Rau Aroha Gallery in Peel St.
Gisborne photographer Josie McClutchie (left) and Professor Holly Thorpe at the Out of the Darkness exhibition at Hinepare Marae in Rangitukia in May. The exhibition is now open to the public at He Rau Aroha Gallery in Peel St.
An exhibition featuring youth perspectives on Tairāwhiti in a changing climate is open to the public at He Rau Aroha Gallery on Peel St in the Gisborne CBD.
Out of the Darkness is a collaboration between Gisborne photographer Josie McClutchie and sociologist Professor Holly Thorpe.
It features 22 black andwhite photographs taken by McClutchie with academic research by Thorpe - associate dean, research division of health at the University of Waikato.
A juxtaposition of powerful images of young people in the places they love, accompanied by text taken from in-depth interviews, the exhibition prompts new perspectives on the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle and repeated weather events on local youth.
Research that shaped the exhibition included focus groups comprising 98 rangatahi across Tairāwhiti.
Key themes from the research are conveyed in the exhibition through images and quotes.
“We had a lot of young people in Gisborne saying that they loved growing up here, but they couldn’t wait to leave,” Thorpe said in an interview with Radio Ngāti Porou.
Many of them felt like there was no future for them here. They felt like the leaders were not making decisions that were going to save Tairāwhiti in the future, she said.
“We also heard young people talking about the pride and strength they felt in their community. They’re not looking to run away.
“This is their forever home – their past, present and future - so they are sticking around to fight for it. That really stayed with me.”
In the same interview, McClutchie said weather events had severely impacted the training and playgrounds of rangatahi.
“I think the youth who did water sports really struck a chord with me because they were so in tune with their environment,” she said.
The exhibition was launched at Midway Surf Life Saving Club in February on the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Project kaumatua Papa Rau (Ralph Walker) gave the opening karakia and special guests Sir Selwyn Parata and Nick Tupara added personal reflections.
In May it travelled to Hinemari Marae in Rangitukia, and last week it was displayed at Gisborne Girls’ High School.
In July it was part of the Sport in a Changing Climate research symposium hosted by Thorpe at the NZ Sport and Recreation Awards in Wellington.
Gisborne Girls' High School paddler Hannah Webb and surf lifesaver Ella Sutton are part of the Out of the Darkness exhibition which is running at He Rau Aroha Gallery in Peel St. They are pictured at school where the exhibition was shown last week. Photo / Kim Parkinson
Gisborne Girls’ High Year 13 student Hannah Webb features in two photographs. In one, she is carrying her kayak and in the second, she is captured mid-stroke with water flying off her paddle.
Webb recently competed in the ICF Junior and Under-23 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Portugal - one of three athletes from Poverty Bay Kayak Club in the New Zealand squad.
Another Gisborne Girls’ High student, surf lifesaver Ella Sutton, also features in the exhibition.
She was photographed at the Olympic Pools, where she trained when she was unable to swim in the ocean after Cyclone Gabrielle.
Sutton said she enjoyed being part of the research focus groups with Thorpe.
“It was good to share our perspective as part of the focus groups and to share experiences of how we have been affected by weather events like Gabrielle,” Ella said.
She started as a nipper at Midway where her dad Matt Sutton was head coach.
Thorpe said the first community-hosted exhibition at Hinepare Marae was special and they were pleased to be able to exhibit at Girls’ High, which allowed the students to engage with the display.
One of the large black and white photos by Josie McClutchie of Ella Sutton (middle) training at the Olympic Pool, part of the Out of The Darkness exhibition.
The exhibition at He Rau Aroha Gallery was an opportunity to bring it to the wider Tairāwhiti community.
Thorpe said she hoped it would spark discussion about the impact of weather events and the wider implications of the research.
He Rau Aroha Gallery is located on the ground floor in the Te Kupenga Net Trust building.
Te Kupenga Net Trust embraces the principles of whanaungatanga (kinship), manaakitanga (hospitality) and whakawhanaungatanga (building relationships) to promote mental wellness and empower individuals to thrive within their whānau and wider community.
It provides peer support and advocacy for whānau in distress and many of its counsellors also have their artworks hanging in the gallery space.
Out of the Darkness will run until September 15 from 9.30am to 4.30pm weekdays.
