This summer, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki invites you to enter the ngahere (forest, ecosystem) – and the realm of Tāne Mahuta – in a new family-friendly exhibition by artist Charlotte Graham (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Tamaoho, Te Ākitai Waiohua, Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Kotimana).
Te Hā o Te Wao Nui a Tāne (The Breath of Tāne) presents an immersive forest as seen through Charlotte Graham’s eyes: an unfolding space of calming, uplifting pastel colours, rich textures, rippling light and playful creatures. Find ruru (owls) and tīrairaka (fantails) perching in rākau (trees), feel ferns unfurling and growing, and discover insects crawling across logs and pekapeka (bats) flying out of nooks.
Visitors of all ages can make their own rub drawings of taonga (treasures) and textures found in the ngahere, which will then be pasted together to help make the korowai (cloak) of Tāne. Over the coming months, the colours of the forest will change to create a vibrant, collaborative korowai.
Te Hā o Te Wao Nui a Tāne is co-curated by Auckland Art Gallery Assistant Curators Emma Jameson and Taarati Taiaroa. The exhibition is part of the Gallery’s major new exhibition, Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art.
$2 per hour to a max of $12 on weekends and a $12 flat rate for weekday evenings at The Civic car park. Find out more.