Māpuna for Saturday 19 November 2022
Photographer Te Rawhitiroa Bosch on new 'multi-sensory' exhibition
Te Rawhitiroa Bosch is the creator and photographer for the new Te Papa exhibition He Kaupapa Waka. He says the focus is on a 'multi-sensory experience' including photos, art work and waka that can be touched. 'They're no longer artefacts behind a glass wall'.
Kaihoe stand ready as Ngatokimatawhaorua beaches outside Te Tii Waitangi Marae on Waitangi Day 2020, the 80th Anniversary of its launch. Photo: Te Rawhitiroa Bosch
Carved panels journey to New York, Geneva and London
The story begins in the early 1800s in Peropero swamp, just north of Waitara. Taranaki was teetering on the edge of what would be almost a century of war, and Te Ātiawa hapū moved quickly to dismantle their most important public buildings and hide significant pieces in the swamps. One hundred and fifty years later the epa – serpentine figures carved in five tōtara panels – went on a journey, to New York, Geneva, London and the Royal Courts of Justice. Author Rachel Buchanan's new book, Te Motunui Epa, examines how these five interconnected carved panels have journeyed across the world and changed practices, understanding and international law on the protection and repatriation of stolen cultural treasures.
Dr Rachel Buchanan Photo: supplied