Mataaho Collective

Hautāmiro (2025) is an installation by Mataaho Collective, which is led by the ancestral narratives of Tokohurunuku, Tokohururangi, Tokohurumawake and Tokohuruatea, the four winds, or the pillars of the sky. The four were children of Huruteaarangi, an atua of the winds who sent her offspring to the edges of the sky to stand as pou that separated Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Inspired by the dynamic visual language of hukahuka whakarākei, the adornments of customary kākahu, Hautāmiro weaves together materials and techniques in an installation that celebrates adaptation, experimentation and mātauranga Māori across generations.

Hautāmiro extends the length of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Big Wall in the form of an unfurled korowai.  Its material language explores the intersections between the natural fibre traditions of kākahu Māori, the arrival of wool with British and European explorers, and Aotearoa’s modern wool industry. Pōkinikini, a type of hukahuka (fringe or tassel on a korowai) made from dried harakeke, and kārure, a traditional two-stranded muka cord, are clasped by plastic insulator claws typically found in electric fencing. Ngore and paheke, which are both decorative woollen elements found on kākahu Māori, are represented by wool-wrapped fencing staples. Each material has associations with clothing and textiles, from the production of garments to the labour of growing and preparing raw materials. Mataaho Collective overlaps processes and materials to create a common space for audiences encountering Hautāmiro and the four winds that are bound together within its different elements.

Mataaho Collective (est.2012) is a collaboration between four Māori artists, Erena Baker-Arapere (Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, and Ngāti Raukawa), Sarah Hudson (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pūkeko, and Tūhoe), Bridget Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāi Te Rangi), and Dr Terri Te Tau (Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa). Known for their large-scale textile installations, Mataaho Collective has been widely acclaimed on the national and international stage for their innovation, and the capacity of their work to create and hold space for Māori ideas and experiences. Their works have been presented at some of the world’s most significant contemporary art exhibitions, including documenta (2017), Biennale of Sydney (2022), Gwangju Biennale (2023), and most recently the Venice Biennale (2024), where they became the first artists from Aotearoa to receive the prestigious Golden Lion award.

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He toi puni a Hautāmiro (2025) nā te Kāhui o Mataaho, i aratakina ana e kā kōrero tuku iho o Tokohurunuku, o Tokohururaki, o Tokohurumāwake, ā, o Tokohuruātea hoki, ko kā hau e whā, kā pou tapu o te raki e whā rānei. He tamariki ēnei nā Huruteaaraki, he atua o kā hau, nāna āna uri i tuku ki kā pae o te raki kia tū hai pou whakawehe i a Rakinui e tū nei, i a Papatūānuku e takoto nei. He mea whakaawe i te reo ā-karu hikareia o te hukahuka whakarākei, ko kā whakakai o kā kākahu taketake, ka rarakahia e Hautāmiro kā rawatoi me kā tūkawe ki tētahi toi puni e whakanui ana i te urutauka, i te whakamātautaka me te mātauraka Māori ko tukuna ihotia i kā reaka, ā, i kā tau.

Ka toro atu a Hautāmiro te roaka o te Pakitara Nui o Te Whare Toi Tūmatawhānui o Ōtepoti hai korowai ko horaina. Ko tōhona reo rawatoi ka whakatōmene i kā pūtahitaka i waeka i kā tikaka o te whītau o kā kākahu Māori, te taeka mai o te wūru ki te taha tou o kā kaihōpara Piritānia, kā kaihōpara nō Uropi, ā, ko te ahumahi hoki o ēnei raki tou o Aotearoa. Ko Pōkinikini, he momo hukahuka (he paeka, he kihukihu rānei ki tētahi korowai) ko hakaia ki te harakeke maroke, me te kārure, he taura kia rua kā whenu muka, ko titia e kā matikuku kirihou tauārai ka kitea ki kā taiapa hiko. Ko kā wāhaka whakarākei wūru, arā, ko te kore me te paheke ka kitea ki kā kākahu Māori, ko whakakonohihia ki kā tēpara ko pōkaia ki te wūru. Kai ia papaka he honoka ki kā kākahu me kā tuika, mai i te hakaka mai o kā kaka ki te mahi whakatipu i kā rawa taketake. Ka whakatāpiki tukaka, ka kōnumi te Kāhui o Mataaho nei kia waihaka ai tētahi wāhi tūmatawhānui mō te huka mātakitaki e whai wāhi atu ai ki Hautāmiro, ki kā hau e whā ko herea tahitia i roto i ōhona āhuataka katoa.

He hereka takata a Mataaho Collective (est. 2012) o kā rika toi Māori e whā, ko Erena Baker-Arapere (Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa), rātau ko Sarah Hudson (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pūkeko, Tūhoe), ko Bridget Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi), ko Dr Terri Te Tau (Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa). E mōhiotia whānuitia ana rātau i ā rātau toi puni weru, ko whakanuia whānuitia ā-motu, ā-ao anō hoki te Kāhui o Mataaho i tō rātau auaha, te kaha hoki o ā rātau mahi ki te waihaka, ki te pupuri i tētahi wāhi e ora ai, e tipu ai kā whakaaro me kā wheako Māori. Ko whakaatuhia ā rātau mahi ki ētahi o kā whakaaturaka toi whakahirahira o nāianei puta noa i te ao, tae noa atu ki te documenta (2017), te Biennale ki Poi Hākena (2022), Gwangju Biennale (2023), ā, ina tata nei ki te Biennale ki Venice (2024), i reira ka puta ko rātau kā rika toi tuatahi o Aotearoa kia whakawhiwhia ai ki te tohu matararahi o te Raiona Kaura.

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Mataaho Collective are the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Toi Aotearoa Creative New Zealand 2025 Visiting Artists.

View the entire installation process of Hautāmiro on the following timelapse recording –