He Tangi Aroha—Mama Don’t Cry (2019).

Kahurangiariki Smith

He Tangi Aroha—Mama Don’t Cry
2019
Single-channel video 15 minutes 57 seconds
Commissioned by Gabriela Salgado of Te Tuhi, Auckland, with support from Auckland University of Technology and University of Auckland; produced in collaboration with Aroha Yates-Smith alongside Graeme Atkins, Alex Monteith and Natalie Robertson’s series ‘Te rerenga pōuri o nga parawhenua ki Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa’

MāoriGirl
2022
Video game and woven mat Dimensions variable
Supported by Sharjah Art Foundation

Hina
2022
8mm LED neon, acrylic, aluminium and mixed media
140 x 100 x 2 cm

Courtesy of the artist

Overview

Kahurangiariki Smith’s art addresses the history of colonisation, the reclamation of Indigenous knowledge and the present-day, lived consequences of historical events in New Zealand. The video installation He Tangi Aroha–Mama Don’t Cry (2019) expands on the Māori history of oral knowledge-sharing by reimagining her mother’s kōrero (story) in a karaoke-esque format. Featuring bright colours, a nostalgic, wide-screen format and abstract landscapes, MāoriGirl (2022) is a role-playing video game that reinvents the story of a woman who became the goddess of death in Māori mythology.
Hina (2022) is a neon pink LED depiction of a Māori female spiritual deity known variously as Hina, Ina, Sina and Hine, and often associated with the phases of the moon. A ripply body of water in front reflects the sculpture, reminiscent of a bright moon shining above the ever-moving sea.

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