The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10) Catalogue

The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 90 Projects Kā Paroro o Haumumu: Coastal Flows / Coastal Incursions 2012–ongoing is a transdisciplinary art project that reconsiders landscapes and material removed from middens associated with tauwhare (shelters) and other sites throughout Te Mimi o Tū Te Rakiwhānoa (Fiordland) coastal and marine areas of New Zealand's South Island, Te Waipounamu. The nohoaka rock shelters (connected with seasonal occupation or food-gathering) of Te Mimi o Tū Te Rakiwhānoa were significant for preserving fibres from early coastal activity in the area due to the dry and sometimes undisturbed nature of the caves, as explained by archaeologist Emeritus Professor Atholl Anderson (Kāi Tahu): The archaeology of Fiordland … is remarkable for the diversity and frequency of perishable cultural remains, both Māori and Pākehā. Māori collected and processed fibre and cordage, especially of flax and Cordyline; pieces of woven flax articles, bird skin and feathers and skin from kurī ; bark and burnt wood from campfires, chips from using adzes to fashion wooden articles such as fishhook shanks. 1 Archaeologist Peter Coutts, working in Aotearoa, made excavations between 1968 and 1972, collecting materials connected to a vast area of coast, including Pātea (Doubtful Sound), Te Puaitaha (Breaksea Sound), Tamatea (Dusky Sound), the lower fiords and the outer coastal regions, including Hakapūreirei (Sand Hill Point). 2 The contents of these middens are held by Southland Museum and Art Gallery Niho o Te Taniwha (SMAG) in Waihōpai Invercargill, the Otago Museum (OM) and Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hākena in Ōtepoti Dunedin. Due to the bulk and complexity of the collected items, they were not inventoried at the time of deposit. 3 As Māori heritage specialist Dr Gerard O’Regan has written: A great deal of New Zealand’s archaeological heritage is not hidden beneath the soil, but instead is buried deep in the stores of museums and universities, waiting to be revisited with fresh interest and curiosity. 4 The Kā Paroro o Haumumu: Coastal Flows / Coastal Incursions project explores how transdisciplinary collaboration can address the effects of this legacy, which can be simultaneously viewed as invasive and damaging, or as fortunate salvage. For APT10, the project is represented by a film essay 5 with new original audio by Rachel Shearer and Cathy Livermore, and spatial audio design and sound mix by Colleen Brennan. It follows cultural experts from Kāi Tahu whānui as the SMAG Collection boxes are opened, giving insights into oral histories and the collective research that has emerged. It is a continuing journey, as the project is much larger than one film: its outcomes include possible future pathways for indigenising museological processes, such as supporting iwi -led (kinship group–led) cultural ownership and knowledge-sharing determined by mana whenua ( hapū or iwi who hold historic and territorial rights over the land). The project to catalogue a large volume of the material excavated from nohoaka rock shelters began in 2012 with the recording an oral history, 6 and has since evolved into He Mea Whakamātā — Repacking the Past which reappraises the midden material from mana whenua perspectives, including navigating the effects of the movement of midden material from tauwhare to museums. Monteith worked with Gerard O’Regan initiating partnerships with SMAG and OM, and along with Vicki Lenihan and Kāi Tahu knowledge-holders sourced funding to support the museums and mana whenua inventorying of much of the material held by the institutions in a collaboration that now spans eight years. 7 Artists and collaborators: Alex Monteith, born 1977, Béal Feirste Belfast, Na Sé Chontae Northern Ireland; A R A P E T A, born 1996, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāti Porou, Muriwhenua); Colleen Brennan, born 1972, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand; Cathy Livermore, born 1976, Sydney, Australia (Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe, Kāi Tahu); Gerard O’Regan, born 1967, Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand (Kāi Tahu); Vicki Lenihan, born 1971, Ahuriri Napier, Aotearoa New Zealand (Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu); Rachel Shearer, born 1966, Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Kahungunu); Kimberley Stephenson, born 1984, Te Awakairangi Lower Hutt, Aotearoa New Zealand; KAIHAUKAI ART COLLECTIVE: Ron Bull Jr, born 1967, Waihōpai Invercargill, Aotearoa New Zealand (Kāti Te Ākau), and Simon Kaan, born 1971, Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha, Kāti Irakehu, Kāti Mako) With First Nations Chefs: Dale Chapman, born 1962, Australia (Yuwaalaraay and Kooma); Chris Jordan, born 1989, Australia (Maclean on Bundjalung Country) With Elders: Maroochy Barambah, born c.1950, Australia (Turrbal and Gubi Gubi); Desmond Sandy, born 1942, Australia (Yuggara) And: Manawaroa Rimene, Aotearoa New Zealand (Kāi Tahu) Alex Monteith and Kā Paroro o Haumumu: Coastal Flows / Coastal Incursions collaborators acknowledge the generosity, contributions and ongoing work of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery Niho o Te Taniwha (SMAG) iwi Liaison Komiti comprised of members of kā rūnaka Awarua, Hokonui, Waihōpai and Ōraka Aparima Rūnaka; and partnerships with SMAG, Otago Museum (OM), Southern research collaboration with the University of Otago Archaeology Programme, Wandering Cooks and the State Library of Queensland. Kā Paroro o Haumumu: Coastal Flows / Coastal Incursions Kā Paroro o Haumumu: Coastal Flows / Coastal Incursions In Light of Time (production still) 2012–ongoing (opposite) Kā Paroro o Haumumu: Coastal Flows / Coastal Incursions In Light of Time (production still, Kaumatua Stewart Bull (left) and Emeritus Professor Atholl Anderson (right)) 2012–ongoing Multichannel HD video, 16:9, colour, nine-channel surround sound, 117 minutes (looped), ed.1/4 / Courtesy: The artists / Photographs: Eddie Clemens