ngā rerenga whau (mahuru), Emily Parr & Arielle Walker
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Stills from ngā rerenga whau (mahuru), (December 2021). iPhone video, 24 min 55 sec.
The film-works in ngā rerenga whau follow two lunar cycles in the Maramataka: Mahuru and Whiringa-ā-Nuku. Beginning with the new moons on September and October 7th, Emily and Arielle exchange a video ‘letter’ on alternating days. Just as the lunar cycle begins in darkness, the exchanges begin without an illuminated pathway; without an expected outcome. As they pass the threads of conversation back and forth, like weaving tukutuku, patterns of spring growth and cyclical processes begin to emerge. The works observe time passing through these rotating cycles and keep two friends connected during rāhui. The seeds sown for journeys imagined over the rāhui continue to bloom in plants gathered from around the Whau during the exhibition, preparing for future dyeing of muka as the seasonal cycles shift again. This muka, extracted from harakeke over many months, will in time be woven into new forms.
Mahuru and Whiringa-ā-Nuku were made for ngā rerenga whau, an exhibition at Kū Kahiko curated by Andrea Low and with the support of Moana Fresh.
These two cycles are spring iterations of the artists’ first cycle, tōu tauira me tōu kaiako hoki, made during Haratua for Whānau Mārama, a Matariki project led by Jade Townsend.