In te reo Māori the word āhua means shape, form or likeness and is often used when describing the physical appearance or character of a person, place or situation. The word āhua is also applied to art forms such as photography, portraiture or sculpture.

Working with this idea of āhua, artists Susana Lei’ataua and Gina Matchitt piece together photographs to create sculptural forms. These forms embody personal experiences and historical events that have shaped them and their perspectives on the world.

Lei’ataua’s Wall of Light—Memorial for New York 01/02 (2012) features a wall of photographs taken during the winter of 2002 following the September 11 attacks on New York. The proliferation of flags which emerged on the streets immediately after the attacks became of particular interest to her as symbols of resilience and solidarity. Here these flags float within the glass-like bricks of Lei’ataua’s installation. For Lei’ataua bricks and glass are synonymous with New York City―the building blocks which physically bind and contain the people and the city, but also act as agents of re-construction and resurrection.

Gina Matchitt’s Maorified (2011) two-dimensional silhouette forms weave together new and historic photographs of family and friends, as well as images of interesting characters she met during a recent trip back home to her Te Arawa/Tūwharetoa tribal homelands around the Bay of Plenty region. These woven images create larger forms that reference symbols of power from New Zealand’s past and present, such as Captain Cook, Queen Elizabeth, the silver fern and ubiquitous hei tiki.

Matchitt’s sculptures weave faces of everyday New Zealanders into historical narratives―narratives that Matchitt sees as a continuation of te aho tapu, the sacred thread used in weaving to symbolise the binding of past, present and future. For her the works are about taking control of the narratives, of the past and present, casting her own net to contain, control and re-present them from her own perspective.

Image above: Susana Lei’ataua, Wall of Light—Memorial for New York 01/02 (detail), 2012, photographic print in acrylic.