Matariki group, a "space" photograph by Stephen Chadwick.
Matariki group, a "space" photograph by Stephen Chadwick.
Two co-joined exhibitions open on Saturday, paying homage to the night sky and, in particular, the stars that appear in our heavens at this time of year and hail the beginning of the Māori New Year.
Pupils from two local schools, along with a group of pre-schoolers, have provided artworkrepresenting their interpretation of 'Puanga', while Massey University professor and astronomer Stephen Chadwick shares his extraordinary psychedelic photos of the Matariki stars, galaxies, and the colourful remains of exploded stars.
For the past 14 years, he has photographed deep space using the same light-sensitive technology used in the Hubble Space Telescope, now available in consumer-grade digital cameras. Chadwick puts his telescope on a moving mount, and the camera allows the rig to track the movement of the stars as it takes photos.
So why do we celebrate Puanga in Taranaki and not Matariki? A quirk of latitude has led to Puanga being recognised by our local iwi.
Puanga is given prominence mainly because some iwi struggle to see Matariki clearly from their locality and therefore look to the next important star near Matariki. That star is Puanga.
As we travel ever further southwards Puanga rises earlier and earlier than Matariki. By the time you get to Southland, Puanga rises 45 minutes before Matariki does.
Using Matariki – also known as the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, and the Kritika – as herald of the new year is an ancient tradition that originated in Asia and Europe thousands of years ago before the migrations into the Pacific began.
Submissions from people in Taranaki are currently being sought for an exhibition to run this year.
Percy Thomson director Rhonda Bunyan is co-curating an exhibition with Felicity Willis and Wendy Johnston - 'Softly whispering … textile stories from Taranaki'.
The exhibition will focus on Taranaki textile treasures and family heirlooms such as embroidery, quilting, sewing, crochet, etc. These items will include anything that has been made with textiles; cloth, yarn, flax, quilts, household items such as tea cosies and tablecloths, garments such as christening gowns and wedding dresses, toys, accessories such as handbags and jewellery. As well as their work, submitters are asked to include a history or story to go with each work.
Need to know: What: Puanga 2021: A community celebration for Puanga — the Māori New Year featuring work from local pupils and tamariki. Where: Main gallery, Percy Thomson Gallery, Stratford. When: Saturday, June 26 - Sunday, July 11
What: Matariki Deep Space: A View of the Stars and Beyond Where: Gallery 2, Percy Thomson Gallery, Stratford. When: Saturday, June 26 - Sunday, July 11
What: 'Softly whispering … textile stories from Taranaki' When: Saturday, September 11 – Sunday, October 10. Details: Submissions details available from director@percythomsongallery.org nz
