Sacred Memories

Nga Kuri a Wharei - The Four Dog Jewels. Rua Pick.

Te Kohurau (Kurow), in North Otago in the South Island and its surrounding areas is sacred to the Waitaha people – the tribe believed to be one of the first tribal groups to occupy the South island from around 850 AD. It is fitting then that the exhibition, “Waitaha: Nga Ahi Kaa, Lighting the Fires of the Sacred Memories” is now showing at Kurow Museum.

Uku. Rua Pick


Kokowai. Rua Pick.
It is an exhibition of sacred taonga (treasures) from the Waitaha people and includes both ancient and modern taonga - from old stone taonga toki and whao, mokihi and raranga to modern paintings and sculpture by artists like Rua Pick (Waitaha, Ngati Ruapekapeka), whose works are shown here; and Warren Thompson. I’ve featured Rua previously in Meet the People (8) and you can read more about his work by clicking on Meet the People in the label line below. As these new works show though, he continues to be inspired by the Maori rock drawings of the South Island, many thought to have been created by early Waitaha. The top work – Nga Kuri a Wharei – The Four Dog Jewels is a tribute to the Waitaha nga hoanga tuhituhi (rock drawings and paintings). The exhibition continues at Kurow Museum until March 30, 2010. www.ruapick.vc.net.nz

Meet the People - 8

Another in the Series Meet the People – Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things – Christchurch-based Maori artist, Rua Pick (Waitaha, Ngati Ruapekapeka) creates works “of the spirit, for the spirit – timeless stories of sky, land and sea.” Rua grew up in Northland in the Bay of Islands surrounded by Maori myths and legends, the ocean and living traditions. He always had an interest in mythology, whether it be Maori or Greek and his continued interest in the dramas and foibles of the human condition are now played out in oils on canvas. Selwyn Wilson, one of the country’s first Maori art teachers, was influential during his Bay of Islands High School years. Rua later moved to Christchurch (after a two-year stint in Raglan) to study for a year at Ilam School of Fine Arts at Canterbury University.

Now 40, he has been working fulltime as an artist since 2000 and when he’s not painting in his upstairs Toko Mata Studio and Gallery in inner city Christchurch, he’s out exploring the land, “getting a feel for the land where the early stories were set.” One of his favourite spots is the limestone valley of Castle Hill, near Porter’s Pass “considered in Waitaha myth to be Te Whare Kohanga or the sacred nest of the sandstone grandmother. He also visits South Island Maori rock drawing sites, which have been a continuing inspiration for many of his paintings. Rua has exhibited extensively in group and solo shows throughout New Zealand; he’s been a finalist in the Wallace Trust Awards numerous times; and a number of his works illustrated the book “Whispers of Waitaha – Traditions of a Nation.” He’s currently guest artist at a show at Nelson’s Suter Art Gallery (until April 26) and if you click on Rua Pick in the index line below, you’ll see some of the works in his studio stairwell. You’ll also find many more of his paintings on his website - www.ruapick.vc.net.nz

Art in a Studio Stairwell

Rua Pick's Studio, Christchurch. March 2009. Ajr

Christchurch-based Maori artist, Rua Pick has created a colourful approach to his upstairs studio, Toko Mata Gallery (The Visionary Post) in Lichfield Street. I took these photos when I was out walking last week – the lighter canvas is a homage to the ancient Waitaha rock drawings and paintings of the South Island; the bird form, based on the legendary eagle, is acrylic on canvas. Rua was brought up in the Bay of islands and settled in Christchurch in 1992, when he started studies at Ilam School of Fine Arts. He fell in love with the southern land and stayed. Rua is currently preparing for an exhibition of 24 works that will be exhibited at The Suter Te Aratoi o Whakatu in Nelson from April 9 – 26. You can see a range of his paintings by clicking on to his website – www.ruapick.vc.net.nz www.thesuter.org.nz