Bloodline
Xoë Hall
12 April 2022
Over the past two weeks, as part of Paemanu: Tauraka Toi – A landing place, Xoë Hall (Kāi Tahu) has been bringing to life her interpretation of the Kāi Tahu creation story as a large-scale mural. Xoë Hall is an artist based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, well-known for murals that can be found in streets and on buildings across Aoteaora.Bloodline radically transforms the rear lobby of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Rakinui stares longingly across at the wild beauty of Papatūānuku, her former lover Takaroa standing to one side, creating a space of bounty to sustain future generations. Aoraki and his brothers emerge tall and proud from the whenua, and Hall’s painting brings a burst of energy to the ongoing kaupapa of Paemanu: Tauraka Toi.Arriving at DPAG in the final month of this exhibition, Bloodline also features contributions by rakatahi from the community, who have worked alongside Hall to learn mural techniques. It will remain at the Gallery for several years to come as a celebration of Kāi Tahutaka and kōrero tuku iho and one of the legacies of this partnership with the artists of Paemanu.Noho ora mai, Lucy Hammonds Curator, Dunedin Public Art Gallery[Above: Artist, Xoë Hall, with her new work, Bloodline 2022, Dunedin Public Art Gallery]