Tua o Tāwauwau

Tia Ranginui

The Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua
38 Taupo Quay, Whanganui

28 May – 21 August, 2022

An exhibition of photographic work by Whanganui artist Tia Ranginui (Ngāti Hine Oneone). In the series Tua o Tāwauwau/Away with the Fairies (2020–1) she captures patupaiarehe; who in Maori folklore were the fairy people of Aotearoa New Zealand. With their delicate features, red hair and fair complexions they lived in forests and mountains and built their homes from the swirling mists. Ranginui’s theatrical photographs show these mercurial fairy people out and about, living their lives in the Whanganui suburbs of Gonville and Castlecliff. Myth and legend echo through each image that were first seen in Ranginui’s debut public gallery show Gonville Gothic at City Gallery Wellington in 2021. The Sarjeant is delighted to be showing these works in Ranginui’s home town, alongside new work that expands the series.

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