Skip to content
ToiORa Webpage_2

KARAKIA Nā Ranea Aperahama

Nau mai e Tama, nau mai e Hine
Kia whakamāui ake koe ki te Toiora: Ki te Pō ki te Ao
I āhua mai koe i te pō i te ao
I a Ranginui te ao i Māui
I a Papatūānuku te pō i Māui
I a Ihomatua, i a Ihomariri
I a Io-te-toiora ka whanake
I a Io-te-waiora ka māpuna 
Ka waiho i te toi matua
I te toi nuku i te toi rangi
I te toiora ki taiao
Ka puritia mai te toiora
Ka waiho i te kaupapa atua
Ka puritia mai te toiora
Ka waiho i te kaupapa tangata
Ka puritia mai te toiora
Ko ōna āhuatanga ka kitea i waenga
o te rangi o te whenua
Ka eke rā ki te taumata kōrero
Ko au te taiao ko te taiao ko au
Tihei mauri ora!

Welcome oh child
May you be renewed through the Art of Wellbeing: Through Light and Shadow
You were formed in the duality of night and day
From Sky Father whom basked in the sunlight of restoration
From Earth Mother whom bathed in the moonlight of regeneration
In the polarity of positive and negative
In the ever-multiplying life energy of Io the creator
In the ever-flowing life giving waters of Io  
Placed in the parent knowledge
In the highest knowledge of sky and earth
In the lifegiving energy of nature
The essence of life is sealed
In the origins of the gods
The essence of life is sealed
In the origins of human existence
The essence of life is sealed
For the characteristics of both are seen
As above, so below
For it is said
I am nature and nature is me
I sneeze – I am aware – I am alive!

Toiora: Ki te Pō ki te Ao The Art of Wellbeing: Through Light and Shadow

Hou mai ki ngā toi auaha ā ngā ringatoi tokoiwa. Ka whakakitea ai te āhua o te whanaketanga mutunga kore o ngā tikanga tuku iho, me te whakaputanga ki Rangiātea.

Ko tā ēnei toi he toko i ngā kōrero mō te ara whanaunga o te kaupapa atua ki te kaupapa tangata, ko te whakatinanatanga o te kupu, Ko te taiao ko te tangata e kotahi tonu.

Experience the innovative artworks of nine artists through the ever-evolving nature of customary art practices, and their expression that seeks balance of light and shadow. 

These artworks evoke the traditional narratives regarding the atua Māori and the mutual connection to humankind, the embodiment of the statement, Nature and humanity are one.

Kohai Grace Exhibition Curator

I think a lot about the over-consuming world we live in, with excessive waste, pollution, greed versus environmental care, and other destructive human activity and behaviours that disregard te taiao. Our connection to nature has been lost.


To create this work, I’ve pulled together a mix of things collected over time, such as muka (flax fibre), and a piece of merino cloth I eco-dyed using toatoa tree bark. I also searched second-hand shops for a cylindrical form to create this representation of Hineraumati, the summer deity, and her husband Tamanuiterā, the sun. These two display visual warning signs that could be looked upon as beauty, but they know differently; they dislike what they have become.


This piece is my response to global warming and climate change. ‘Ka hoki te waiora ki te ao’ is a whakatauki or proverbial saying that pleads for all of us to restore health to the world and therefore, to ourselves.

RINGATOI ARTISTS

Matthew McIntyre-Wilson
Matthew McIntyre-Wilson
Elaine Bevan
Wiremu Grace
Darcy Nicholas
Wairere Pene
Hermann Salzmann
Te Aomania Grace-Paul
Jasmine Arthur
Kaya Grace