Kahukiwa exhibits

Press, 19 April 1989, Page 23

Kahukiwa exhibits

The Maori painter, Robyn Kahukiwa, from Wellington, is showing a range of works at the Jonathan Jensen Gallery until April 22. Her inspiration is Maoritanga, particularly that of her tribe, the Ngati Porou. In her paintings, figures are based upon stylised curved figures of

Ngati Porou carving. Two large paintings in the exhibition are full of red and purple colour. “Kai Karanga” depicts a woman calling her iwi (people) on to the marae. The kai karanga is the last remaining ritual act that Maori women perform as their own and it has changed little since

traditional times. Smaller works celebrate the Maori poverb: “He tapu te tinana o te wahine no te mea he whare tangata” (the woman’s body is tapu because it is the house of the people). The bright, flat colours and detailed drawing recall Kahukiwa’s book illustrations and her show, Wahine Toa, Women in Maori Myth, which toured New Zealand in 1983-84.

In her haka works, Kahukiwa generates movement and rhythm appropriate to their subject by stroking flecks of colour — purple, red, orange and black — along frieze-like compositions.

Included in the exhibition is a large male haka painting, “Tangata Rite,” which is the companion to “Tena I Ruia,” a female haka painting which has recently been purchased by the McDougall Art Gallery.

Although Kahukiwa’s range is wide, her theme is consistent: describing the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary Maori culture.