Pōneke-based artist Turumeke Harrington’s recent large-scale installations draw evocatively on the language of interior design. Furniture, light fittings and soft sculptures weave through space, inviting audiences to interact and play – to sit, climb, punch, pull.

Mahoranuiātea, described as a great expanse of light, is rendered for Objectspace’s foyer wall as a large-scale net, punctured with light and set against a shocking pink backdrop. Here Harrington considers how objects, material and colour can express, challenge and pursue mātauranga Māori through their composition.

The woven net describes the infinite expansion of the universe, functioning as an analogy for whakapapa as it extends out beyond us in all directions. LED lights signal moments of disruption, markers of individual failure, success and challenge. They act as beacons that speak of the people with whom we share both real time and our genealogy, acknowledging those who guide us forward.  

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Turumeke Harrington is a Ngāi Tahu artist based in Pōneke Wellington, living with her daughter and partner. She has a background in industrial design and fine arts. Turumeke graduated with a BFA (Hons) from University of Canterbury in 2018.