Wednesday, July 7, 2010

A Gateway For History

I photographed this contemporary carved Maori gateway at Dunedin's Otago Museum last month - so different to traditional works, yet still beautiful in an entirely different way. You'll notice that, as always, I homed in on the cast shadows.
According to the museum exhibition notes, Nga Waka Tupuna o te Tai-o-Araiteuru - The Ancestral canoes of the Otago Coast - was made for the Otago Museum by the manawhenua of the Otago region, under the guidance of the artist, Cliff Whiting. A dedication ceremony was held for the gateway at the Otago Museum on November 27, 1990. The carvings on the front of the gateway depict the three canoes, Uruao, Araiteuru and Takitimu. The totara wood figures represent four important South Island ancestors. www.otagomuseum.govt.nz

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