Exhibition celebrates creativity of Wānanga o Aotearoa students

Janaya Waitere's kaitaka paepaeroa - a cloak made from top-quality muka (flax fibre) bordered with tāniko (geometric patterning). Photo / Supplied

An exhibition featuring raranga, whakairo and rauangi works of current and past Te Wānanga o Aotearoa students starts at Te Manawa Art Gallery in Papaiōea on Friday.

Nāku te kaupapa, māu e tāniko brings together the works of Maunga Kura Toi Bachelor of Māori Arts tauira (students).

The title of the exhibition likens the body of a kākahu (cloak) as the foundation set by the wānanga in the creation of the Maunga Kura Toi programme. Its tāniko border, made by finger weaving, represents the success and achievements of the tauira who complete the
programme.

The works at the exhibition explore the three disciplines of ngā mahi a te whare pora (weaving), whakairo (carving) and rauangi (visual arts).

"The works in this exhibition not only represent the history of Māori art education within Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, but they're also an acknowledgment of the knowledge and beauty of the art of weaving and, most importantly, a celebration of student success," raranga kaiako Adrienne Spratt says.

The exhibition includes work by Janaya Waitere, a kaitaka paepaeroa – a cloak made from top-quality muka (flax fibre) bordered with tāniko (geometric patterning) - as part of her Master of Arts project.

The artwork is called Te Aro o te Hā and, in preparation to weave it, Waitere (Ngāti Maniapoto) researched historical kaitaka (cloaks) from various museums and spoke with tāniko and kaitaka experts.

Threads or aho are derived from the harakeke (flax) plant through a process of extraction,
pounding and twining. These materials are the aho (threads), which are whatu (woven) to create the garment and its ornate tāniko borders.

"The main motivation for wanting to create kaitaka paepaeroa was to bring forth old techniques that aren't so commonly used in present-day whatu and tāniko and share them with others," Waitere says.

She completed the cloak in time to wear it at her wedding in December last year.

"The korero held within the tāniko pertains to my hoa rangatira (husband), our tamariki and aspirations for our future as a whānau."

The Details
What: Nāku te kaupapa, māu e tāniko
When: October 22 to December 12
Where: Te Manawa Art Gallery
Entry: Free