Te Whare Pora

Te Atamira is a multi-purpose arts and cultural space, which opened in the heart of the Whakatipu region in 2022. Te Whare Pora is an exhibition of extraordinary kākahu (cloaks) made by internationally recognised Māori weaver Roka Hurihia Ngarimu-Cameron MNZM, along with hand-made taonga puoro (musical instruments) from Roka’s collection. It is curated by Dr Awhina Tamarapa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Ruanui.

We wanted to 'cloak' the white gallery space to generate a feeling of going inwards, of returning to the land, the metaphoric cave. Not a dark cave however, this is not a return to darkness - rather an opportunity to look inwards. We wanted to find a way to filter the abundant natural light this gallery has. We looked at architect Glen Murcutt's dwellings which, sitting lightly on the land are often referred to as light filled caves.

Utterly in awe of the skill involved in these works, we wanted the kākahu to feel human, like friends conversing with each other and highlighting the mauri (life force) of each piece. We wanted to introduce materials directly from the land, not as heroes but as supports for the exquisite weaving work of Roka's.

We intended to bring a sense of movement, of wairua (spirit) to the space. We wanted it to contain an energy that is rarely felt in everyday life in order to provide a reverence and sense of preciousness to the works.

Using 3.7m drops of 3m wide sheer linen fabric we created faceted curves around the entire gallery space which allowed a beautiful filtered light to come through giving the room its own 'cloak'.

We designed recycled kahikatea and rimu stands for the kākahu in acknowledgement of Roka's name. The kākahu were tucked in and out of the openings in the faceted fabric with Roka's work surrounding her students. From the entry all the kākahu are seen together, when closer they are seen as curated groups, and when next to them, as individuals.

The dedicated space for the practice of weaving is delineated by a flat woven wool rug, and hand carved kahikatea furniture. It is a destination within the space and its presence acknowledges the act of weaving as taonga as much as the object itself.

We designed a pocket shelf and a long plinth which were finished in clay plaster for the largest of the taonga puoru. The taonga are mounted to hover off the clay, casting shadow. Smaller taonga are mounted on local rock, again hovering. The linen fabric drops are unweighted and subtly move as people walk by. An animated projection features on one of the fabric drops, depicted rock art drawings discovered locally in the takiwā of Ōraka Aparima Rūnaka of which Roka has affiliation.