Neke Moa’s time spent at Parehuia as a McCahon House artist-in-residence in 2023 was profound for her practice, not just due to the legacy of the place but for the sensory intensity of the ngahere.

The view from the studio was all-encompassing – the windows filled with kauri, nīkau, kahikātea and manu. Opou Pā and Otītori Bay were regular walking and gathering sites with her partner Paula and Winnie, their kurī. Due to recent flooding, the whenua around the streets and Manukau Harbour was scarred and damaged. These daily experiences of the whenua offered a constantly changing insight into te taiao and the realm of atua.

The connection to the ngahere and the new materials Neke was able to gather while at Parehuia informed fresh directions. Her practice consistently incorporates gifts from the taiao; worktables in the studio quickly held collections of different shells, seeds, stones and rākau. Nīkau fronds (reminiscent of a bust with an elongated neck) became necklace supports surrounded by strings of different compositions, harakeke lay partially woven and arrangements of drawings spread across surfaces.

The vigour and potency of Neke’s worktable is captured in this exhibition, alongside her desire to explore mātauranga and kōrero atua through her works. Here, she presents a culmination of new pieces and works-in-progress from her time at Parehuia, alongside drawings and pūrākau gathered and interpreted with her partner and collaborator, Paula Conroy.

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Glossary of teo reo Māori kupu in text: 

ngahere – bush, forest
atua – ancestor with continuing influence, god, supernatural being, deity
kūri – dog
taiao – world, Earth, natural world, environment
rakau – tree, timber, wood
mātauranga – knowledge, wisdom, understanding, skill
kōrero – to tell, say, speak, read, talk
pūrākau – story, narrative

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The practice of Neke Moa (Whare ā Papaīra, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Ahuriri, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) seeks to promote hauora by deepening connections between tāngata, tohunga and atua. Her work centres on adornment and object-making, drawing heavily on materials found in the taiao and on customary and contemporary processes. She has exhibited throughout the Moana Oceania region and internationally, participating in such projects as HANDSHAKE (2010–22), Wunderrūma (2014–16) and the 2016 and 2024 Festivals of Pacific Arts and Culture. In 2023, she was awarded a prestigious Herbert Hofmann Prize at Munich Jewellery Week. Works by Moa are held in the collections of important institutions, including Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Dowse Art Museum, and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. She is based in Ōtaki Beach, where many of her rauemi are gathered.