Te Ihu o Mataoho was an exhibition created by Rebecca Ann Hobbs in consultation with mana whenua and collaboration with other practitioners. The works advocate for the appreciation of ngā puia o Tāmaki Makaurau (the volcanic field of Auckland), by raising the profiles of volcanic features with artworks that celebrate the contemporary relationships that communities have with these precious sites. This work takes research of ngā puia o Tāmaki Makaurau as a point of departure from traditional exhibition practice and develops it in dialogue with the ST PAUL St Gallery’s biannual Research Fellowship Irwan Ahmett and Tita Salina: Pacific Rim of Fire. The fellowship project, which is exhibiting alongside Te Ihu o Mataoho also engages with volcanic sites and is featured in ST PAUL St Gallery Two. Te Ihu o Mataoho continues Hobbs’ interest in movement practices, particularly notions of embodied measurement and the politics of living and making work in a settled country.

Te Ihu o Mataoho is grounded in the Ihumātao peninsula, which encompasses the volcanic features Maungataketake, Otuataua, Waitomokia and most importantly Puketaapapa. The Ihumātao area contains archaeological sites that are protected under the Historic Places Act (1993). The area of open land surrounding these sites was made a Special Housing Area for new housing to ease pressure in Auckland. This decision has put many significant cultural and geological features of the area under threat. Hobbs is working with mana whenua, local residents, artists and others to respond to the area’s historic and contemporary geological, volcanic, social and cultural narratives.

The artist’s approach is underpinned by the research question: ‘How can I perform multimedia art works that engage with experience-centered content, in locally specific contexts, in a reciprocal manner?’

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Te Ihu o Mataoho has been made by Rebecca Hobbs in collaboration with: Cat Ruka, David Veart,  Fiona Jack, Kahu Tuwhare, Karamia Muller, Louisa Afoa, Martin Awa Clarke Langdon, Moana waa, Molly Rangiwai McHale, Paula Booker, Qiane Matata-Sipu, Ralph Brown, Tosh Ahkit, SOUL, Te Wai-ō-Hua.

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Room Sheet Text by Paula Booker

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Fiona Jack, SOUL, 2016, banner.

SOUL, Human Chain, 2016, video  and David Veart, Rebecca Ann Hobbs with camera operator Ralph Brown, Ihumātao, 2016, video. Photo Sam Hartnett.

Cat Ruka, Tosh Ahkit, Rebecca Ann Hobbs (under the guidance of Brendan Corbett, Maiti Tamariki, Raureti Korako and the Ruka whānau with Kiara Ruka and Lucia-Bluebell Kahukōwhai Davison), Ōtuatua, 2016. Photo Sam Hartnett.

Louisa Afoa, Qiane Matata-Sipu, Rebecca Ann Hobbs, Puketaapapa, 2016, video projection. Photo Sam Hartnett.

Molly Rangiwai-McHale, Rebecca Ann Hobbs, Waitomokia, 2016. Photo Sam Hartnett.