Take me to the river

& drop me in the water…

Leaning on the neighbouring Ōtākaro river, this work fosters an otherworldly take on the classic Aotearoa landscape. Encompassing the feeling of hot summer winds, such as the notorious nor’west winds and arches of Ōtautahi, this landscape holds nostalgia at its core. Aptly described as “the feeling you get after watching a really good movie, when the world feels surreal”, there is a certain warp to the familiar. The tuna stretches into the distance, merging with the awa that is playful with perspective, as the maunga ebbs and flows like waves. The plants incorporated here - nīkau palm, tī kōuka, and harakeke, were chosen for their common thread of fibre - each holds their own importance within traditional weaving. This felt like a key inclusion for a work situated on a campus that weaves together many different organisations for an overarching kaupapa of climate action and environmental care and protection. 

The arch above the tī kōuka tree seems to turn the work into a portal, solidified by the inclusion of the Southern Cross (Crux) constellation. Māhutonga, known by eight different names in Te Reo Māori, is widely known as a navigation aid and is thought of as an ‘anchor’ to the waka that is the Milky Way (Te Ikaroa). Spiritually, I am told it is viewed by some to be a portal through which people have passed to enter this current reality. 

The addition of the cheeky Pīwakawaka adds to the manipulation of reality as the revered messenger from the Atua/other world as understood in Māori mythology. Known as omens of death, these cute creatures become incredibly foreboding if they enter your house - if you are to believe the superstition. They are known as such due to their interruption of Māui’s attempt to eradicate death by passing through the vaginal canal of goddess Hine-nui-te-pō, leading to his own demise.

https://www.chchenvirohub.org/environmental-co-working-space/artist-page-olivia-mercer/