Māra
Cultural Bodies, Uncovering Other Histories
Rachel Stephenson 2004
Mixed media installation. Glazed ceramics, wood, peat, sound equipment.
Audio recordings from Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa National Radio New Zealand 2004
Symbolic of Māori and European traditions, the Kūmara and Apple/Pomegranate are bodies which hold cultural knowledge.
Both have travelled great distances to Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Here a biblical tree with shining yet forbidden fruit.
Kūmara lie half-buried in the peat of old forests and connect to alternative networks to challenge colonial power and privileged hierarchical knowledge.
Voices rise from under the peat and document a year of divisive racial politics. They also sing of celebration and exchange and include kōrero and waiata, Indigenous .perspectives, voices, and oral traditions.
These recordings were made from RNZ National Radio Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, throughout 2004.
