MOTUTAPU
MOTUTAPU
Benjamin Work and Brendan Kitto
Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery
420 Titirangi Road, Auckland
11 June - 11 September 2022
Photo Walk with Brendan Kitto & Benjamin Work
Sunday 07 August 2022, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Maungauika, Devonport, Auckland
Places are limited. Book via info@teuru.org.nz
Brendan Kitto, Rangitoto
MOTUTAPU is the conclusion of a four-year journey by artist Benjamin Work and photographer Brendan Kitto. This exhibition looks at the shared history of Motutapu (sacred island) throughout Moana Oceania – including Tongatapu, Rarotonga and at the entrance to the Waitematā Harbour here in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Motutapu is a place of sanctuary. Positioned at the entrance of great harbours, straddling the open ocean and the mainland, it serves as a gateway for navigators arriving and departing on voyages. The lifting of tapu and making things noa took place on Motutapu, allowing navigators to continue with their journey back to their closest kāinga, even if it was generations later.
Work and Kitto’s enquiry into Motutapu was initially centred around the shared name. What soon became apparent was a deeper connection to their own hohoko/'akapapa (genealogy) as they travelled to three of the Motutapu locations and connected with key knowledge holders. Motutapu has become a metaphor for Work and Kitto as a gateway into or starting point for these personal journeys. Through this exhibition, they offer it to the extended diaspora of Moana Oceania as a way for reconnection and reconciliation, and as a reminder of what joins communities across time and space.
Photo Walk with Brendan Kitto & Benjamin Work
Sunday 07 August 2022, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Maungauika, Devonport, Auckland
Enjoy a walk around Maungauika led by photographer Brendon Kitto and artist Benjamin Work, exploring different views over the Waitematā harbour in response to their collaborative exhibition, MOTUTAPU.
Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, expand on their observation and composition skills, learn more about the history of Motutapu across Moana Oceania and discover connections between place, self, and art.
Sunday, 24 July 10.30am – 12.30pm | Places are limited. Book via info@teuru.org.nz
$50 includes a roll of film | Suitable 16 years+
BYO camera, jacket and any other equipment
Brendan Kitto and Benjamin Work: MOTUTAPU, 2022. Installation view, courtesy of the artists and Te Uru. Photo by Sam Hartnett
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