Pohū for CultureFest

THE BRIEF

We were given a short time frame to produce two entrance-ways to the the annual multicultural one-day festival that celebrates Auckland's rich diversity through cultural expression. The entrance-ways would be the first time the arts would be intentionally included in the event, and had to represent the communities in Tāmaki Makaurau.

THE SOLUTION

Pohū wanted to encourage interaction with the entrance-ways and invoke thoughtful and meaningful responses as the viewer connected with them. The art had to be inclusive and leave the viewer with a feeling of acknowledgement and sense of belonging.

Concept One: Collaborative Art Panels "Together"

Four simple shapes explore the dynamic interplay between our cultures and casts positive notions toward companionship, associations, similarities, and differences.

Through the panels one is provided windows from which one can view the people of Tāmaki Makaurau. Equally the viewer becomes a part of the artwork as they gaze through the open windows.

Panel One: We are all connected.

Aborigine for human, the rainbow is not only a symbol of hope but is also a bridge between two or more cultures reaching out to one another and forming strong bonds, not only in the offer of help but also in vulnerability and the acceptance of help.

Raindrops symbolise many cultures each falling into an ocean of one. The artwork shows that we all rise from the same blood and return to that which we came.

Panel Two: We are all one.

Life can take many twists and turns, take different forms, colours, sizes and shapes, yet despite this we remain together. The window of infinity.

Our creators of tomorrow are artists from Room 16 of Manurewa Central School. Our 9 and 10-year-old tamariki each contributed feathers for this collective piece, a beautiful symbolic cloak that depicts leadership and includes the obligation to care for the people and environment.

Panel Three: Love is everything.

Love really is everything. It is peace. It is forgiveness. It is the way in which we form our deepest bonds with ourselves, each other, communities, mankind, other lifeforms, Papatūānuku and Ranginui, and the divine Holy Spirit. Through love, we can heal, we can have peace, and can unite to become one.

Panel Four: New beginnings, new life.

Just as the womb nurtures new life, so does the koru indicate relationships born of new beginnings.

The stairs are reminiscent of the Māori pattern of Poutama (stairway to heaven) and has significant spiritual and educational meaning. The stepped pattern symbolizes levels of attainment and advancement, of growth, of striving upwards towards betterment of self and others.

The different sizes and unevenness of steps indicate that the path is not always so easily travelled and that there are many ways to move upwards.

Concept Two: "A Common Chore"

Just as we each share food ‘around the dinner table’, the aromas and flavours of the dishes will suggest the culture that it belongs to.

So, what is another daily activity that binds us all together and is common to all cultures?

It is the washing and drying of one’s clothes.

This art piece is an acknowledgement of the toil of women, men and children who take part in the common and humble activity of hanging their freshly washed clothes to dry.