The Long Waves of Our Ocean: New responses to Pacific Poems

The long waves of our ocean: New responses to Pacific poems

26 November 2022 to 27 May 2023 | National Library Gallery, Ground floor
Mon to Fri – 9am to 5pm | Sat – 9am to 1pm
Free entry

An exhibition showcasing artworks made in response to a selection of poems centered around Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, exploring its influence in Aotearoa and the Pacific.

Early-career artists respond to poetry

Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa is an enduring and dynamic cultural force, and an influence on artistic practice in Aotearoa and the Pacific.

For this exhibition, early-career artists Sione Faletau, Ayesha Green, Turumeke Harrington, Ana Iti, Sione Tuívailala Monū, Ammon Ngakuru and James Tapsell-Kururangi have created new artworks made in response to a selection of poems by Alistair Campbell, Keri Hulme, J. C. Sturm, Hone Tuwhare and Albert Wendt.

These artists and writers address Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa in its varied and shifting roles, engaging with fictions and histories and encouraging us to inhabit new perspectives.

The long waves of our ocean searches for the shape of poetry beyond written or spoken language, describing waves of influence using new materials and images.

Curated by Hanahiva Rose.

Photograph of a man wearing a mask.

Sione Tuívailala Monū, Kanokupolu Portrait Two, 2020