The Māori whakataukī or proverb “He toka tū moana” uses the image of a rock that stands firmly in the ocean to describe someone steadfast and strong in their culture or beliefs, who defies all opposition.
The works in these pages are by contemporary artists, and show Te Moananui-a-Kiwa / the Pacific Ocean as a place of both vulnerability and resistance. Threatened by a range of external forces, its island nations are strongholds of knowledge, stories and practices; places where past and future can connect and communicate. The sea itself is a kind of homeland, associated with nurturing, healing and a sense of belonging.
The issues that have motivated the artists in this space vary from the devastation caused by natural forces like earthquakes and tsunami, to harm by human actions – including colonisation, climate change and environmental exploitation. Together, these very different works affirm the power of people, even in the face of overwhelming adversity.
“He toka tū moana” he whakataukī tēnei e whakataurite ana i te tangata ki tētahi toka e tū ana ki te tai, e kore nei e neke i te au moana, ka manawanui i tōna ahurea me ōna mātāpono, e kaupare atu ana i ngā whakawhiu o waho.
Ko ngā toi e kitea nei i tēnei wāhi nā ngā ringa toi o nāianei. Ko te kaupapa o ngā mahi, ko te āhua whakaraerae me te āhua ātete o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Ahakoa rā ngā taumahatanga e tāmi nei i Te Moananui, ko ia motu, ko ia motu, he pā pūranga mahara nō te mātauranga, nō te pūrākau, nō te tikanga. He wāhi tūtakitaki hoki te inamata ki te anamata. Ko te moana anō hoki, he momo kāinga mō te iwi, he ūkaipō, he kaiwhakaora, he tūrangawaewae.
Ko ngā take i whakapātaritari nei i ngā ringa toi ki tēnei taiwhanga, ko ngā āhuatanga o te taiao pēnei i te rū o te whenua, i te parawhenua mea, tae rawa atu ki ngā mahi whakawhara a te tangata – ko te taumanu whenua tērā, ko te whakakau āhuarangi tērā, ko te pāwhara taiao tērā. Ahakoa rerekē, e kitea ana, e tautokohia ana e ēnei toi te kaha o te tangata ahakoa ngā tairo a Tūtekoropanga.