Ngaahina Hohaia

On September 27, works by Parihaka artist Ngaahina Hohaia (Ngati Moeahu, Ngati Haupoto) will launch City Gallery Wellington’s new Roderick and Gillian Deane Gallery, dedicated to M?ori and Pacific art. Visitors will encounter hundreds of embroidered poi reflecting on interactions between the people of Parihaka and the colonial forces in the late 19th century. In particular, Ngaahina honours Parihaka’s political and spiritual leaders, Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu K?kahi, and their vision to build a peaceful relationship between M?ori and Pakeha.

“I am delighted that Ngahina Hohaia’s exhibition will open the Deane Gallery,” says City Gallery Director, Paula Savage, “Ngaahina’s whanau were instrumental in the creation of the 2000-2001 Parihaka exhibition at City Gallery, during which Ngaahina worked as a guide.  It is fabulous to be able to continue this relationship.”

The exhibition has been drawn together by Reuben Friend, recently appointed Curator, M?ori and Pacific Art. Reuben notes that Ngaahina’s works create giant patterns, with each poi pattern referencing a customary M?ori design that has specific cultural and historic symbolism. The main work, Roimata Toroa, is made up of 392 poi embroidered with symbols of the Parihaka community’s passive resistance against invasion by Government troops. One of these symbols is Roimata Toroa (the tears of the albatross) which references the three albatross feathers that represent the Parihaka movement.

In addition, the poi themselves are constructed from 100% New Zealand wool blankets symbolising the trade between Maori and Pakaha. They are also examples of products of the New Zealand economy that are built on confiscated M?ori land. The blanket stands as a symbol for the land but also the historical imbalance of power. Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu K?kahi stated to the crown that they were willing to share their “blanket”, but that sovereign independence must remain with M?ori. “Words recited by Tohu Kaakahi in 1895 form the textual statement embroidered in my works. Words that continue to resonate even today,” says Ngaahina.

Ngaahina has a strong whakapapa of weaving and fibre work in her whanau and is rapidly establishing herself as an outstanding artist in her own right. In June this year she was selected for Fibra Spirare, an exhibition at Rydals Museum in Sweden that showcased five contemporary New Zealand textile artists. Ngaahina lives in Palmerston North where she is completing a Masters in M?ori Visual Arts at Massey University.

The Deane Gallery is the result of the generosity of benefactors Roderick and Gillian, who created the Deane Endowment Trust in memory of their daughter Kristen.

 For more information on City Gallery Wellington’s development, including reopening exhibitions and events, see www.citygallery.org.nz