Te Marunui Hotene
Poutama, 2019
Healing through art is an on-going process, self-conscious efforts to re-connect to one’s past to better understand their present, play out in a series of unique and often revealing episodes of self re-creation. English academic Robbie Shilliam calls this process de-colonial science, that is the shedding of blackness towards taha Māori; challenging Cartesian dualistic tendencies.
Here, painting is used as a tool both for communication and for healing. The sporadic and expressive nature of Te Marunui Hotene's paintings are influenced by the life and works of Jean Michel Basquiat. This allows for rapid mediation and documentation of points of interests in a journey of healing: textual portions of geneology, feelings of blackness, hopeful ambitions, but also, the mundane, day to day activities and peoples names. Text then intertwines often with kowhaiwhai and pattern, layered on occasion by imagery of taniwha, in a colourfully vibrant visual negotiation for space.
Poutama, refers to the tukutuku pattern of the same name. It means the ever ascending pursuit of knowledge, marking a significant point in personal development.
Ever Ascension,
Poutama e!
View Video: Interview with Te Marunui Hotene