Mana Whenua / Sarah Hudson.

Machine-generated: -- Mana Whenua, an introduction -- Ayesha Green -- Sarah Hikuroa -- Nikau Hindin -- Ana It' -- Kahu Kutia -- Sian Montgomery-Neutze -- Bronte Perry -- Nathan Pohio -- Bridget Reweti -- Raukura Turei -- Cora-Allan Wickliffe -- Artist Bios.

"Introduction - Sarah Hudson Te toto o te tangata he kai; te oranga o te tangata, he whenua, he oneone While food provides the blood in our veins, our wellbeing is drawn from the land and soils Our tipuna used whenua as an art material, as medicine and in ceremony. The variety of colour in the earth pigments they had at their fingertips challenges the common understanding of 'Maori colours' being red white and black. This spectrum of earthy colour is at home on our fingertips, a gift of whakapapa from PapatOanuku, Hinetuparimaunga, Parawhenuamea and Hineukurangi Making paint with whenua as our ancestors did has low environmental impact and is an exercise in tino rangatiratanga. It connects us to the whenua in a very visceral way, connecting us to place, our tipuna and nga atua. -- I am Sarah Hudson; a Ngati Awa and Ngai Tiihoe mum, artist. curator and researcher based in Whakatane. I've been investigating earth pigments with the rope Kauae Raro Research Collective since 2019 The collective was ignited as we visited wahi tapu within our rohe that for us, solidified the importance and longevity of working with whenua as a means of visual communication These sites of rock art and ceremony are long lasting illustrations that we come from a rich lineage of artists; that art is an important part of being Maori As a researcher and practicing artist. I've found information about how our tipuna used earth pigments to be more accessible than information about how contemporary Maori artists are using these resources This 'under-the-radar' status of the contemporary use of earth pigments was a motivating factor to build whanaungatanga between Maori artists working with whenua and create a publication that gives examples of the continuation of this practice. This publication documents a group of contemporary Maori artists who participated in the Mana Whenua project, an art and matauranga exchange I initiated over the course of Matariki 2020 The artists were sent a postcard painted with earth pigments, with a few questions on the back relating to their practice. They were also sent paper, Kauri gum, Tarata gum, honey, raw and processed pigments; everything they might need to create paint from the whenua The artists were asked to create a postcard sized artwork painted with earth pigment, answer the questions, and post it back to me in Whakatane. The following pages contain the initial postcard which was sent out to each artist, and the resulting responses. Please enjoy the breadth of knowledge, innovation, and creativity from a cross-section of contemporary Maori artists using whenua in their art practices Maria Whenua was made possible by Creative New Zealand's 'Arts Continuity Grant', which supported arts projects during COVID-19"--Provided by publisher.