Category Archives: Tangata whenua knowledge

The River Speaks

The River Speaks
The project was installed in the historic homestead of Tupare, which is situated on the Waiwhakaiho River

The River Speaks connects live river data from the Waiwhakaiho River to our project website, where the data controls the audio heard. The audio is one part of an installation consisting of a small assemblage located in between two video sources. The audio, video and installation all are reference points to rivers and flow.

The project is a collaborative work by Ian Clothier, Andrew Hornblow and Nina Czegledy. It was created for Sharing the Waiwhakaiho and was based on the live data from the Waiwhakaiho River.

The River Speaks data
The above image shows the actual river data graphed on February 8th 2015 – the stepped appearance is due to data coming into the project every thirty minutes – this is the time interval the Regional Council collects its river data

Some of the deeper connotations of associations with the river were explored. Wai, which means water or flow, is placed very highly according to eminent Maori activist and proponent of Maori language Dr Te Huirangi Waikerepuru CNZM. An animated chart describing layers of a Polynesian universe and written by Dr Waikerepuru, is one source of video. Some of the audio files played by the project website, are audio of Dr Waikerepuru talking about wai and the Waiwhakaiho River, from The Wasteland by Indian video artist Sharmila Samant.

Jo Tito photo of wai
The patterns of flow are caught by Jo Tito revealing both Maori and science based understanding

The second video source is a video by Jo Tito of sea water shot in the tidal zone of a local beach. Tito was very interested at the time she shot the video, in connections between Maori knowledge and Western science. It is possible to see in the sweeping lines of flow she captured, both the repeating patterns of Maori art and design, and the structures of flow as it might be studied by Western science.

Nestled between these two is an assemblage – a container in which are placed a kawakawa (a small native tree) tree root which has a feather attached. These two are respectively symbolic of the dendritic drainage patterns of which Taranaki is an exemplar – the Waiwhakaiho River being one catchment; and a reference to flow and turbulence in the air for which the feather of a bird is uniquely engineered. The feather is that of a native kereru, a large wood pigeon. These two sit upon an antique Chinese bowl, a reference to some of the items located in the rooms which housed the installation.

The audio component of the project sweeps in with audio from diverse sources, all indigenous. The aim of connecting to the environment by using data sensors and interconnecting to audio, was to open a dialogue with indigenous peoples many of whom hold water or flow in very high regard.

Thanks to Andrew Hornblow who makes custom data sensors, Julian Priest and Adrian Soundy who authored the web components. A very special thank you to the contributors of the audio and to Nina Czegledy who brought two new voices to the project – artist Kura Puke of the local Ngati Tawhirikura hapu, video producer/director and Nanavut Inuit Stacey Aglok MacDonald, who joined Dineh/Navajo flautist Andrew Thomas, and Darren Robert Terama Ward (Te Whanau a Apanui, Te Aitanga a Mahaaki) who makes his own traditional Maori instruments. I’d also like to thank Dr Te Huirangi Waikerepuru for his words, wisdom and forethought, and Clare Mewse of the Regional Council, for the use of Tupare House for the installation.

Tīahoaho: bearing light on the Waiw’akai’o

Tīahoaho by  Stuart Foster and Kura Puke:  photograph by Shaun Waugh.
Tīahoaho by Stuart Foster and Kura Puke: photograph by Shaun Waugh.

A projection of image and sound created through a 3d infrared motion sensing device (a ‘kinect’) to ‘bring into light’ aspects of the inter-relationship of Waiw’akai’o awa and the local hapū Ngāti Tawhirikura. The project was presented to locals on Sunday February 8th.

A mihi was followed by a looped projection featuring karanga and pao acknowledging Waiw’akai’o (by Moana Williams and Kurt Komene). This marks the commencement of further ongoing projects; that includes participating in the rejuvenation of the kokowai trail to the source of the Waiw’akai’o ki Taranaki mounga- further research will include footage and documentation of the journey and processes of uruuruwhenua (entering/acknowledging the land) and whanaungatanga (inclusive collaboration).

Tīahoaho by  Stuart Foster and Kura Puke:  photograph by Shaun Waugh.
Tīahoaho by Stuart Foster and Kura Puke: photograph by Shaun Waugh.

A brief history of water in science and art

The history of the study of water in science and art has interesting points of convergence and tells quite a story of the way humans have interacted with water over centuries. While many might regard water as little more than the humble content of every day tea and coffee, the study of water has been central to recent science and the human use of water in machines can be traced over millennia. Rivers have also captured the imagination of artists for centuries. Given it is essential for life it is perhaps no surprise that water holds a central and significant place in the world view of Māori and other indigenous groups.

Without going into too much of the science, the study of turbulence was central to the development of Chaos Theory. Edward Lorenz’s computer model of the weather was a defining point. The onset of turbulence was compellingly studied by Ernst Libchaber, and even dripping taps have been studied in the name of Chaos Theory. Mandelbrot’s ideas about scaling, self-similarity and fractals are important, as the scale change between dripping taps and weather systems indicates.

Some interesting imagery has arisen in the course of the study of flow and turbulence. A Von Karman Vortex Street sounds like an exotic location but is actually imagery from the study of turbulence, where Von Karman led the way. Here is an image below:

A Von Karman vortex street (digitally optimized). Source: http://lfmi.epfl.ch/files/content/sites/lfmi/files/images/Project%20Images/cyl-re140.jpg
A Von Karman vortex street (digitally optimized). Source: http://lfmi.epfl.ch/files/content/sites/lfmi/files/images/Project%20Images/cyl-re140.jpg

The images are made by having a small cylinder filled with dye, which has a smaller hole in it, on the side in the direction water is flowing. As the flow rate increases, the line of dye becomes wavy, then spiral like forms branch off. Once the flow is over a certain rate, the street becomes completely turbulent. Karman Vortex Streets on rare occasions can be seen in clouds, showing that there is a general principle of flow being seen.

Many New Zealanders, whether or not Māori will intuitively recognise in the flowing forms above, the painted rafter patterns seen in Whare Nui (Meeting Houses). It turns out that Kowhaiwhai (the name of the technique of the painted rafter patterns) have origins in canoe paddle decoration for which there are early examples from Ngai Tamanuhiri, seen in the image below.

Painted Ngai Tamanuhiri hoe (paddles) collected on 12 October 1769, during Cook's first Pacific voyage, sketched on board the Endeavour by Sydney Parkinson. © British Library Board Add. 23920, f.71
Painted Ngai Tamanuhiri hoe (paddles) collected on 12 October 1769, during Cook’s first Pacific voyage, sketched on board the Endeavour by Sydney Parkinson. © British Library Board Add. 23920, f.71

It is striking that the whorls of flowing forms running up scales from the tiny to the large are found in both the science and the paddle decoration. A sense of flow escalating is also found in art, most notably in the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci.

Ian Clothier (1990). After da Vinci: studies of water passing obstacles and falling into a pool c.1508-9.  Pencil on paper.
Ian Clothier (1990). After da Vinci: studies of water passing obstacles and falling into a pool c.1508-9. Pencil on paper.

Da Vinci was famous for among many other things likening the motion of the surface of water to hair. He used also used his studies of water to generate the grand fictions known as the Deluge Drawings, which capture the intensity of the artists view of water and nature.

Ian Clothier (1990). After da Vinci: Deluge over a rocky landscape c.1513-15. Pencil on paper.
Ian Clothier (1990). After da Vinci: Deluge over a rocky landscape c.1513-15. Pencil on paper.

Da Vinci was of course known for many things: scientist, engineer, sculptor, painter, armourer and his engagement with the technology of the day was notable. Water itself holds an interesting place in the development of technology, because the origins of the computer are traceable back through calculators to automata, then through to weaving looms and back further to water clocks. These reached a zenith of sorts around the 12th century Muslim Turkey. Al Jazari lived in the Islamic golden era, and is credited with bringing mechanics into engineering and combining these with a sense of beauty. The efficient and beautiful use of water are hallmarks of his work.

More recently, UK artist Susan Derges has blended art and science by submerging large photographic plates in estuarine waters and using a flash to take an image of the swirls and eddies created by sand moving in turbulent suspension.

And even more recently that that, the subject of water, flow, turbulence and Māori world view have been integrated by Māori New Zealander Jo Tito, whose work was included in the curated exhibition Wai in Albuquerque in 2012.

Jo Tito (2012) Wai. Photograph.
Jo Tito (2012) Wai. Photograph.

Kokowai

The Kokowai Cluster relates to the source of the Waiwhakaiho. This also implies origins and beginnings. The river sometimes runs red with ochre, so connected to this page you will find information about iron oxide – its’ significance, role and place in Māori culture. Then there is the geology of rivers. The Waiwhakaiho is also a source of andesite – which is highly valued by sculptors, uniting geology and creativity.

Kokowai is the name given to a stream that is a tributary of the Waiwhakaiho, high up on the mountain. Kokowai is also the name of a naturally occurring colour of the Earth, and is significant to Māori.

The cultural significance of red ochre

Since the mid 1600s, Taranaki weaving was famed for its rich colours, particularly the kokowai hues in taniko (twined geometric patterned borders) of cloaks. These were highly sought after. There are instances of a cloak from here being exchanged for waka, or large quantities of taonga.

Within Aotearoa, Pasifika and many indigenous nations this ochre the hue named kokowai is a significant material in visual and performative culture. For Māori, its significance is that the ochre is the blood of Rangi and Papa when they were separated – they had been in an embrace for so long they had become entwined. Tane had to cut through sinews etc., to separate them. This is a metaphorical narrative on many levels in regards to cosmology, and also the pain/suffering/sacrifice these parents undertook to allow their offspring to develop and transform.

In Māori culture, to apply kokowai to a structure, particularly in visual culture is to render the object, artefact, structure or body ‘tapu’ i.e. charged with energy (which originates in the intangible , higher realms of reality of Te Po) therefore requiring significant attention to restriction, boundaries and respect.

Te Po is the primary reality, it is the potentiality of life (it is where Rangi and Papa reside: their expansiveness outwards – created Te Ao Marama – the realm we reside in; it is an outcome of the potential of Te Po.

Te Ao Marama is a constant reminder that we are here to develop, to acquire wisdom towards enlightenment. Kokowai reminds us of this: it is a layered, rich viscous material. To apply ochre to an artefact or structure is called kura.

Kura means ‘prized possession.’ One of the most prized taonga is knowledge (hence its association to school). Red ochre signifies an artefact is ‘taonga’. This can be seen in many instances of Māori visual culture. This remains relevant and resonates deeply in the Maori aesthetic and conceptual continuum.

It is also a customary understanding that ‘wai’ as water is first and foremost understood as of the cosmic stream of energies, i.e. it has a spiritual quality first. Wai as water is a manifestation for this realm ‘Te Ao marama,’ its essence is intangible.

Kura Puke.

Haematite
This lump of naturally occurring haematite, known to Māori as kōkōwai, is of the type used to produce red-ochre pigment for art and visual culture. Source: Te Ara with permission from Te Papa Tongarewa the Museum of New Zealand.

 

Kokowai is also used in paint, shown here as part of Kowhaiwhai, or painted rafter patterns from the meeting house Hotunui, (Ngati Maru) at Hauraki built in 1878. It now stands in the Auckland War Memorial Museum, New Zealand. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Kokowai is also used in paint, shown here as part of Kowhaiwhai, or painted rafter patterns from the meeting house Hotunui, (Ngati Maru) at Hauraki built in 1878. It now stands in the Auckland War Memorial Museum, New Zealand. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

 

A photograph of a bison from the caves of Altimira in Spain, showing the use of red earth pigment. Source: National Museum and Research Center of Altamira
A photograph of a bison from the caves of Altimira in Spain (18,000-14,000 years old), showing the use of red earth pigment. Source: National Museum and Research Center of Altamira.