UKU//UTU - With Nigel Borell, Heramaahina Eketone and Wi Taepa

Posted: Tuesday Jul 16, 2019

Curated by Māia Abraham and Jesse-James Pickery 17 July 2019 - 24 August 2019

Please join us to celebrate at the closure of this exhibition on Saturday 24 August, 2pm.

Uku being from the body of Papatuānuku and also being the material that sculpted the first human, Hineahuone in Māori oral tradition, represents a direct connection with the land. Our language, Te Reo, mimics the waves of the ocean, the birds of the trees and the shapes of the hills. The way we communicate and relate to each other is intrinsically connected to the land from which we come from. Uku is a powerful symbol of this whakapapa through which we can gather people together to learn and teach each other.

Curated by Jesse-James Pickery (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) and Māia Abraham (Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāi Tūhoe), UKU//UTU aims to disrupt the structure of a formal exhibition as a site for wānanga, where practitioners and guests with specialist knowledge will facilitate discussion around uku and its impact on relationships with ourselves, other people and places.

This wānanga invites artists, guests and visitors to collaborate over six weeks in the gallery, which will function like a studio during open hours. In addition to this, there will be a vibrant series of events and public programmes that reimagine the structure and function of exhibition making and presentation within a contemporary experimental framework.

The calendar of events will update and develop alongside the wānanga, to view the calendar please click here, or view details below.

Guest dates:

Wi Taepa: Wednesday 17 July – Saturday 24 August

Heramaahina Eketone: Tuesday 23 July – Thursday 25 July

Nigel Borell: Wednesday 14 August – Thursday 15 August

Public Programme
All events are free to attend.

Every Tuesday, 11am
Weekly Kōrero: reflection and goal setting for the week ahead

Wednesday 24 July, 11am–4pm
Drawing Workshop: with Heramaahina Eketone
Places limited to 30, to register, please click here.

Saturday 3 August, 11am–3pm
Uku Workshop: with Wi Taepa and Jesse-James Pickery
Places limited to 30, to register, please click here.

Tuesday 6 August, 12pm–1:30pm
Kōrero with Marilynn Webb facilitated by Jesse-James Pickery.

Wednesday 14 August, 12pm–1:30pm
Kōrero with Nigel Borell on uku practice

Thursday 15 August, 12pm–1:30pm
Ngā Kaihanga Uku and Uku History with Nigel Borrell

Jesse-James Pickery (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) is an artist based in Ōtepoti, working with uku (clay and ceramics) to explore concepts of connection and value. Jesse graduated from the Dunedin School of Art in 2018 and is currently undertaking a Masters of Science Communication at The University of Otago.

Māia Abraham (Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāi Tūhoe) is a curator and artist currently living in Ōtautahi. Having moved from Katikati, he completed a BFA majoring in Sculpture from School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury in 2017. Within his practice he uses art and curating as a way of exploring kaupapa Māori ways of thinking and working; asking how does manaakitanga exist in the arts? Or perhaps why is whanaungatanga important to the artistic process? Māia is one of 3 kaiwhakahaere of Ōtautahi Kōrerotia, a collective producing events and exhibitions for and by local artists based in Ōtautahi. He was the Toi Māori and Creative New Zealand Māori Art Intern at Blue Oyster Art Project Space for 2018, co-curating the exhibition Wā o mua, September 2018. Upcoming curatorial projects include: Whitu, Masterworks Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau, June 2019, Enjoy Contemporary Art Space, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, September–October 2019 and Hastings City Art Gallery, Heretaunga, November 2019.