Vanessa Wairata Edwards, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Kuri Hoki aku maumahara

Description

Vanessa Wairata Edwards

Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Kuri Hoki aku maumahara – my memories return. 2025
Mixed media, painted print
720 x 1020 mm

These paintings are an instinctive response to kapua – Clouds and ua – rain. Inspired by a poetic expression I wrote about Kapua Whakpipi – the trailing clouds across the sky. Kapua Whakapipi – constant trailing wonders. A reciprocal relationship exists between Papatuanuku and Ranginui manifested in the cyclic lifeforce of water shared between. Mauri ora Ever present kapua, giving sustenance to our moana and whenua, constant and responsive. A delicate dance Kapua Whakapipi, I am drawn to the stories and secrets you must hold. Life giving, life destroying, life renewing. Ancient I see the rivers and currents of our atmosphere reflected in your movements. All seeing You are the veil between us and the celestial, I imagine what stories and teachings you offer. All knowing When gazing upon you, the currents moving ever so slowly across Ranginui I return to childlike imaginings and dreamlike states. He tohu tena pea, they are perhaps signs signalling what is coming, warning or promising. Ancient whispers Offering new ways of imagining stale stories or forgotten knowledge. Resuscitating narratives, weaving them into a new. Potential Kapua Whakapipi- constant trailing wonders.