Pūtahi / Confluence

Twenty-seven photographs examining the meeting of two peoples in one land. The exhibition presents natural taonga colliding with infrastructure and urban landscapes, documenting sites significant to Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe and Kāi Tahu iwi across Aotearoa. The Pūtahi / Confluence: Tauraka Toi series photographs locations in Moeraki, Matakaea, Waihemo, Huriawa and Waikouaiti, including ancient pā sites and fortified settlements. A second suite, Tai Moana Tai Tangata, captures impacts of colonisation on Taranaki and Waikato, including Pioneer Gun Turrets, war memorials and industrial sites. As the artist observes: the whenua witnesses change—appropriation and exploitation of whenua, awa, roto and moana are central to the colonial project, and while some historic sites are memorialised, many histories are known only to iwi.