Te Matariki
Te Matariki created by Dr. Brett Graham, of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, in 1994. Made of laminated tanalised pine this piece was first exhibited at the Museum of New Zealand (now Te Papa Tongarewa) before it was purchased by founding Dean of the Law School, Margaret Wilson with funds donated by Dame Catherine Tizard.
Dr Graham’s extensive and renowned art practice is steeped in the influence of his Māori heritage and Te Matariki is no exception. Standing over 2m tall, and 2 and a half metres wide, the seven points represent the seven stars of Matariki, a star cluster significant to Māori. The seven points, or petals, symbolise the stars and each represents a unique attribute: he mana - prestige, he tika - correctness, he aroha - love, he mohio - wisdom, he kaha - strength, he pai - goodness and he oranga - welfare.
Literally the word matariki means the ‘eyes of god’. Māori mythology explains this is from when Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother were separated by some of their children. This brought about Te Ao Marama, the world of light, in which we now reside. Their son Tāwhirimātea, was against separating their parents and became so angry that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens. The rising of Te Matariki heralds the Māori New Year and was traditionally a time for remembering the dead, and celebrating new life.
The overall shape of the sculpture resembles a young plant, a symbol for growing and striving for knowledge. This is emphasised by the staircase indents following along each piece. These are known as poutama, and are often found on tukutuku panels, woven patterns on boards that line Marae whare. These poutama are symbolic of the journey into the heavens to attain knowledge, often attributed to Tāwhaki or Tāne. This journey is reiterated in the twelve steps of the poutama, representative of the twelve heavens.
Dr Graham has mentioned that art should be relevant to the community and accessible to the people for whom it is made. He impresses on his students the importance of putting heart and earthiness into their mahi, and that it should not operate purely conceptually or analytically. Te Matariki communicates with us the universal cycle of life and death and the journey within the bookends that are the start and finish of our time. While Matariki is a time to reflect and look back on all that has happened in the year just past, it reminds us too that it is exactly that, the past. The petals begin to blossom as the promise of the year ahead and the possibilities that lie within unfurl before us. Each of the seven staircases guiding our way to enlightenment, and reminding us that we are part of something that is bigger than ourselves and we are not alone in our journey, but are climbing the paths of those that paved the way for us in the hopes that one day we would reach higher than they ever could.