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Pouwātū: Active Presence Installation Image

John Miller and Elisapeta Heta

Biennale of Sydney

Biennale of Sydney
Sydney, Australia

"He kitenga kanohi, he hokinga whakaaro. To see a face is to stir a memory.

Pouwātū symbolises what this exhibition intends to embody: a statement of active presence. The active presence of John’s photographic practice over five decades, dynamic and a view from within; the active presence of a wharenui, a vessel, an ancestor, an archive of a place, a library, a place to meet, sleep, kōrerorero (dialogue), the face of a collective history and of an aspirational future; the active presence people, Māori and tangata Tiriti (non-Māori, constituent communities in Aotearoa, whose citizenship is made possible by way of Te Tiriti o Waitangi)." Elisapeta Heta

Photographer John Miller (Ngāpuhi), has been active since the late 1960s, well-known particularly for his vast documentation of protest movements in New Zealand. His extensive archive centres Maori people, culture and communities, often from an insider perspective, providing an invaluable counter-point to mainstream histories.

Architectural designer, Elisapeta Hinemoa Heta (Ngātiwai, Waikato Tainui) has worked in dialogue and in collaboration with Miller to produce this architectural emplacing, extending and unfolding of his work, ‘balancing the taha wairua (spiritual) with the taha tinana (physical) understanding of space.’ Their work together traverses many times, places, and movements, holding sovereignty as a central thematic accross the display.

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  • Title: Pouwātū: Active Presence Installation Image
  • Creator: John Miller and Elisapeta Heta
  • Date Created: 1969/2020
  • Location Created: Campbelltown Arts Centre
  • Physical Dimensions: dimensions variable
  • Provenance: Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from Creative New Zealand. Courtesy the artists.
  • Type: installation
  • Rights: Biennale of Sydney
  • Medium: mixed media installation
  • Edition: 22nd Biennale of Sydney (2020): NIRIN
Biennale of Sydney

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