11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

‘it’s all about composing and creating the harmony of the sounds from materials that we used’. 4 When Caminha was a child, making music using recycled materials was a great source of happiness and fun. Later, he learned to play guitar from a friend, and in 2002 he joined the band Galaxy. Caminha is also part of a project called NOISE Timor, which creates compositions using recycled materials, traditional Timorese instruments and sounds from nature. He explains: ‘I like to make an installation using natural materials to create the sounds. It’s a part of respect for nature’. 5 Like materials from nature, found objects, such as the ones used in My Kitchen Sounds , are accessible and cost nothing. These objects inspire creativity and a sense of resourcefulness, as the artist explains: ‘My inspiration is the limitations of money and materials. It makes me think of creating something that you can’t buy’. 6 Caminha’s approach demonstrates that not having access to instruments is not an obstacle to making music. Rather, the challenge of such limitations creates endless opportunities for experimentation and creativity. Caminha encourages children to understand that anything can be an instrument, and to be more aware of the everyday sounds they encounter. In his practice, Brett Graham creates monumental sculptural installations that explore history, politics and philosophy. He merges the contemporary and the historical, together with customary Māori and colonial European imagery to prompt discussion. For Graham, new work can stem from a brief conversation or something he has read, as he explains: ‘Because I am a visual artist, all of my ideas eventually have to be pared back to make simple forms that tell a complex story’. 7 His project for children has the deceptively simple title Wakuwaku , which translates in English as ‘rubbing’. The template-based activity introduces children to important patterns found in the artist’s work, and provides insights into how these patterns are inspired by nature and Māori culture. To participate, children select one of two paper templates. The first depicts the fantail, known as the tīrakaraka or pīwakawaka, or by one of some 20 other names, demonstrating its importance and ubiquitousness in Aotearoa. The fantail, with its distinctive tail resembling a spread fan, is a small, insect-eating bird that can be found in the bush and domestic gardens. The second template depicts an F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter jet, which Graham referenced in his 2008 sculpture Te Hōkioi . Graham recontextualises the jet, and in naming it after the hōkioi, an extinct eagle that was native to Aotearoa, he references the continued strength and survival of the Māori, following their violent displacement during colonisation. The plane sculpture is covered in swirling rauru patterns, which represent the ripples made when a paddle pulls through water. Graham also invites children to apply patterns to their templates by making rubbings of the carved designs featured in his artworks. An animation encourages children to learn about the patterns in Graham’s work, their significance and the way they reference nature, as the artist explains: Many patterns, whether it be in furniture or clothing or other objects, draw on natural patterns as the source of inspiration. Often even abstract shapes will start off as simplifications of flora and fauna. Nature often uses geometrical shapes as building blocks, which are fascinating to look at because of their regularity. 8 According to the artist, one of the patterns in Wakuwaku is rauponga: . . . which is very special in Māori carving. A rau is a leaf, and a ponga a fern tree. It consists of haehae (which means to tear or cut) lines and pākati (notching). Together the lines and notches are said to resemble a fern leaf; they are placed together in a variety of ways, and talk about the special place of the fern in New Zealand culture. When Europeans first arrived in Aotearoa, they described it as a land covered in ferns. It is now the national symbol of the country, with sports teams like the All Blacks and Silver Ferns using it as their symbol. 9 Revealing the links between histories and nature, and the patterns that nature inspires, Dana Awartani, Etson Caminha and Brett Graham remind us that nothing exists in isolation in our complex and interconnected world. TAMSINCULL NOTES 1–3 Dana Awartani, artist quotes from an email to the author, 29 May 2024. 4–6 Etson Caminha, artist quotes from an email to the author, 10 May 2024. 7–9 Brett Graham, artist quotes from an email to the author, 12 May 2024. Yim Maline / Harmony (detail) 2024 / Watercolour on paper / Created as part of A Dream for the Future 2024, commissioned for Asia Pacific Triennial Kids with support from the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation ASIAPACIFICTRIENNIAL