Turumeke Harrington: Tā, Tau
Tā, Tau presents new work by Turumeke Harrington, inviting us to come together, to sit within the landscape—both sheltered from the wind and immersed in it.
An ongoing provocation, Tā, Tau reflects the artist’s contemplation of her contribution to landscape art. She explores this by gathering dirt from places she has lived, as well as whenua connected to her tīpuna. As she walks the land and rests among tussock-covered hills, she considers landlessness, the housing crisis, and contemporary life. She is not concerned with romanticised scenic paintings but rather with the raw, weighty presence of whenua—felt in her hands and reimagined into the structures she creates.
Tā, Tau is a playful turn of phrase, drawing on the sounds and meanings of tātou/tatau—the te reo Māori words for "we" and "collective." With this title, Turumeke Harrington gestures toward togetherness, inviting us to gather, to shelter, and to be present with the land and each other.
Turumeke is a urban shapeshifter creating large sculptural installations. Leading the charge her practice intersects industrial design and fine arts - mixing space, colour and material in innovative ways.
Harrington is a dynamic force with an extensive exhibition history. This season of making sees her digging deep into the landscape conceptually and physically. Her most recent explorations of this are Home Ground/ Kororiwhatepō at Page Galleries and Stumping ground at Te Uru - each iteration working into what it means to make a significant contribution to Landscape Art.
Israel Randell is a multi-disciplinary curator and artist of Cook Island (Rarotonga) and Māori (Tainui, Ngāti Kahungunu) descent, who explores the notions of innovation as tradition through installations, performances, and spatial activations.