Now they are being connected in a new Otago Museum exhibition that opens today, offering a different perspective of the contemporary human experience in Aotearoa.
Ngā Hau Ngākau (Breath of Mine) creator and painter Robin Slow said the exhibition contained 36 luminous paintings, 34 carvings including intricately carved taoka pūoro (traditional Māori musical instruments), and a soundscape and video featuring the beautiful musical instruments.
‘‘I hope visitors come away from it with a greater understanding of the interrelationships of all the ngā toi — a Māori celebration of life through movement and its many expressions.
‘‘I want them to see how they all fit together from the purakau [stories] to the sounds of the taoka pūoro and the marks that are made with carving.
‘‘They are all interlocked and interrelated — they give a good snapshot of life and the pattern of thinking of Māori.’’
He said visitors could hear from the collaborating artists at the Hutton Theatre at 10am today.
Then at noon, taoka pūoro performers will explore the whakapapa, tikanga and the sounds of the many Māori musical instruments, how they were lost and then revived by The Haumanu Collective, and how they relate to different atua (ancestor with continuing influence).
Between 2pm and 4pm today, a limited number of people will be able to carve their own kōauau (flute) and porotiti (humming disk) from blanks provided by the artists, and then learn to play them.
