Ka whiti te Mārama’s photos a visual Hawke’s Bay feast: Toni MacKinnon

An image from the book Ka whiti te Mārama.

Toni MacKinnon is MTG’s art curator.

OPINION

I’m thrilled to share that our book, Ka whiti te Mārama, which means “The light shone clear”, has just been printed.

The book is an extended version of an exhibition of the same name, currently at MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri. The publication is full of fabulous colour photographs of artworks held in the museum’s trust collection.

The artworks have been chosen because they reveal something about our history - from before Pākehā arrived, to more contemporary times. In that sense, the book is historically interesting as well as a visual feast.

What is great is that commentary and poems by students from local schools, Lindisfarne College and Tamatea High School, have been incorporated into the book.

Creative New Zealand funded the publication (with a contribution from Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust) on the basis that the books were sent free to all schools in Hawke’s Bay.

They, and we, are hopeful that the book is a relevant and valid source to help students understand different perspectives on our past and that schools will use it as a resource for learning about Aotearoa’s history.

It offers perspectives on history that other mediums cannot match, due to art’s ability to capture emotions and subjective experiences. The book advocates for art as a valid and relevant way of understanding diverse perspectives, a key learning outcome in the new New Zealand History curriculum.

Spanning three centuries of art-making, some of the collection pieces in the book were produced in turbulent times, while others have been created more recently, offering perspectives on the past from today.

Artworks such as a hei tiki worn by Te Rauparaha, Charles Heaphy’s painted memory of his ride in 1874 on a paddle steamer to Milford Sound, and scrimshaw made by whalers at their leisure provide visceral reflections on the atmosphere of the various periods, revealing how people felt, thought and responded to unfolding events.

There is an immediacy in these historical objects that offer insights into the personal and collective psyche of the era, capturing nuances that are overlooked by more factual accounts.

These are seen alongside works by living artists. Sandy Adsett, Russ Flatt, and Ayesha Green’s painting and photographs offer intelligent reflections on the past and historical events that made Aotearoa what it is today.

Contemporary artists in the book, producing work decades after an event, reinterpret and reframe the past, engaging us with the broader context and legacy of the event, exploring its long-term impact and relevance.

We hope that by including student commentary and poems in the book, schools will respond positively to this resource, opening an ongoing dialogue about how we interpret and learn from the past, ensuring that history remains a living, evolving conversation.

• The Light Shone Clear exhibition is on at the museum until April 2025. Ka whiti te Mārama, the publication designed by Unit Design with gorgeous photographs by Elizabeth Goodall, is available at the museum as well.