11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

have been transported. Large-scale images of the river and portraits of devastated mānuka groves locate us and the pā tauremu firmly in the rohe (territory) of the Ngāti Porou. Robertson’s deep connection to her ancestral river and whenua (land) shimmers in the light emanating from these images of aroha (love). Central to the installation is the recognition that aho — a line of descent, as well as the cord used for stringing a catch of fish — is also, as Robertson explains: . . . used to refer to radiant light, and light as a medium for atua in divination. From a Māori perspective, historic photographs and films of ancestors, created by hihi aho, or direct rays of light imprinting onto a light sensitive medium, remain connected to their points of origin through these aho, these whakapapa light beams. 12 She also affirms: I am conscious that I may unwittingly record a last catch of fish, or disappearing trees. What we have are our stories and, now, our images. As Ngāti Porou take on the monumental task of turning back the tide of erosion, I am witness, documenter and storyteller. 13 In 1923, Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata sought ‘documentary’ assistance from the Dominion Museum as his iwi’s ancient fishing knowledge and techniques were deemed vital, but at risk of being lost. Following in his footsteps, AWA places Ngāti Porou visual culture at the centre of their efforts towards cultural and environmental reinvigoration. While Graeme Atkins and Natalie Robertson are hopeful, they also lament: We aim to [use our visual and material culture to] draw attention to the vulnerability of the materials used, in particular, kānuka and mānuka known also as kahikātoa, both ‘tea tree’ members of the Myrtaceae family. Myrtles, as they are commonly called, are under threat from a climate change-induced spread of myrtle rust. The potentially deadly rust spores arrived on the wind, in April 2017, carried from Australia to New Zealand by Cyclone Debbie. What if 100 years from now, mānuka and kānuka become extinct like the upokororo [the New Zealand grayling]? 14 RUTHMcDOUGALL NOTES 1 The rohe (territory) of the Ngāti Porou iwi runs north along the coast from Te Toka-a Taiau, at Gisborne, to Pōtikirua, inland from Wharekāhika (Hicks Bay). When Māui hauled up the North Island from the ocean, the first point to emerge was Hikurangi, the mountain claimed by the Ngāti Porou. Waiapu is their ancestral river. 2 Natalie Robertson, ‘The eye of the film’, in Wayne Ngata and others, Hei Taonga mā Nngā Uri Whakatipu / Treasures for the Rising Generation: The Dominion Museum Ethnological Expeditions 1919–1923 , Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2021, p.224. 3 Meaning ‘river’ in Te Reo Māori, AWA is also the acronym for Artists for Waiapu Action. 4 Monty Soutar, ‘East Coast places – Waiapu River valley’, in Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand , 23 August 2011, <teara.govt.nz/en/east-coast-places/page-2> , viewed February 2024. 5 Natalie Robertson, online conversation with the author, March 2023. 6 Natalie Robertson, He Uru Mānuka [AWA artist proposal], 25 January 2023, p.2. 7 Robertson, He Uru Mānuka [AWA artist proposal], p.1. 8 Robertson, ‘The eye of the film’, p.227. 9 Robertson, ‘The eye of the film’, p.234. 10 A member of the 1923 expedition to the Waiapu, Te Rangihīroa was the first Māori to graduate, in 1904, with a medical degree from a New Zealand university. 11 Atkins is credited with the discovery of Leptospermum tairawhitiense , specific to the East Cape region and distinct from the more widespread Leptospermum scoparium (commonly known as mānuka myrtle). 12 Robertson, ‘The eye of the film’, p.224. 13 Robertson, ‘The eye of the film’, p.114. 14 Robertson, He Uru Mānuka [AWA artist proposal], p.3. Natalie Robertson / Raupeka ki Mangawhariki. Distressed mānuka trees in the Mangawhariki riverbed 2023 / Ilford Crystal gloss paper, 290gsm / Triptych: 139.5 x 105.5 x 5.3cm (each) / Purchased 2024 with funds from Tim Fairfax AC through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / Image courtesy: The artist AWA building pā tauremu, Waiapu River 2024 / Image courtesy: The artists / Drone photograph: Paora Brooking This project was assisted by Ngā Pae o Maramatanga (New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence), Creative New Zealand, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau/AUT University, Waipapa Taumata Rau/ University of Auckland, Te Wananga o Aotearoa, and Raukūmara Pae Maunga. ARTISTS+PROJECTS 54 — 55