Āniwaniwa showcases work by two takatāpui multidisciplinary artists of different generations. Both artists hail from the Eastern Bay of Plenty. They have whakapapa ties to this place and further down the East Coast of Te Ika a Maui. Zena Elliott is now based in Kirikiriroa, and Tina Tangiweto is currently in Te Awa Kairangi. Āniwaniwa is their first exhibition together. It brings their art back home.

​

The show title refers to a type of rainbow that forms a halo around the moon. It plays on takatāpuitanga, guiding lights and wandering paths, maramataka, and also nods to the colours that are present in the exhibition. Zena and Tina work through big ideas and serious kaupapa with a light touch. Āniwaniwa is joyful, twisting, energetic, and warm. Vibrant colours, patterning, mātauranga Māori, and tapping into the flow of mauri while making are important in Zena and Tina’s work. This is an exhibition with many faces.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

​

 

Tina Tangiweto’s mahi toi for Āniwaniwa relates to the maramataka (Māori lunar calendar). Each piece has been completed on a single phase of the moon. Tina’s feelings spill onto scavenged cardboard boxes from urban sites near the artist’s home, nikau spathes from the homes of relatives, and other foraged surfaces. On some works, commercial printing peeks through Tina’s organic patterns. In other works, Tina’s paintings and words layer on top of each other; tracking feelings on the same phase of the moon when it comes around again.

 

Tina’s works are named after the lunar period, moon phase, and Gregorian year they were painted on. Some of the titles are accompanied by short notes by the artist. We can read Tina’s works like pages from a diary, and consider how we feel in the present moment. We can reflect on the tensions between two flows of time; the regimented and organic; solar and lunar; Pākehā and Māori. Perhaps we can be inspired to notice the textures and rhythms of our environment, make use of what’s around us, and connect with our bodies and emotions.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zena Elliott’s mahi toi for Āniwaniwa is a two-part work. Two large faces, titled Ramaroa (pass the threshold) and Ramaroa (duality) represent the male and female embodiments of the rainbow. The two faces are complex and unique, patterned and glowing. Together they make a whole, that is both male and female. They can help us think about gender fluidity, identity, and continuation.

 

Zena adapts shapes and patterns associated with wheku (carved faces). These familiar forms are rehashed in day-glo colours, mashed up with camo and clouds, made asymmetrical. Instead of carving away wood, Zena peels off masking tape to reveal areas of flat colour and clear strips of marine ply. It’s a technique used in pinstriping and signwriting. There is potential in the negative spaces Zena peels back. There’s space to breathe, and to think about the old in the new. Where have we come from? Where are we now? Who can we become?

 

The title Ramaroa translates to beacon. Zena’s work for Āniwaniwa attracts attention, and shines brightly even in the soft light of the gallery. Visitors have been intrigued by how these works are made, and the way the colours buzz together. Often, the colours match what visitors are wearing, and we have an opportunity to think about the visual language we encounter everyday.

​

​