Porirua

Porirua

Kāore he horopaki kātea ake i te whenua. E aro kē ana au ki te pahekotanga o ngā hanga me ngā kano. Ki te pupū ake ngā kare ā-roto o te tangata e pā ana ki te tukino a te tangata i te whenua, tēnā, he pai tēnei, he tino pai tēnei - heoi, ehake nāku tēnei whāinga.
— Nā Robin White, i te Paenga-whāwhā o te tau 1970.

He rongonui a Robin White mo tōna āhei ki te whakawehe i ngā whiti o tōna wheako me tōna takiwā ki hō rātou ake titonga. Ka kitea ngā tuanui whero e whakatauritea ana ki te takiwā o te wao e karapoti ana i ngā tuanui me ngā pātiki mārakerake ki tawhiti, i roto i tēnei tānga tuatahi nā White. I tīmata a White ki te whakaako ki te kāreti o Mana, i Porirua, i te tau 1969. I taea e ia te kite mai i te kāreti ngā tarakihana e turaki ana te whenua, kia pai ai te hanga nōhanga hōu.

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There is no theme apart from the landscape pure and simple. I am more concerned with transition in shape and colour. If they conjure up some feelings about man’s often insensitive (or progressive) treatment of the land then this is good, very good—but it wasn’t consciously intended on my part.
— Robin White, April 1970

Robin White is known for her skill in distilling scenes from her immediate experience and environment into concise compositions. In this early print by White, crisp red house roofs are depicted in stark contrast to lush native bush that surround them and the barren fields in the distance. In 1969, White began teaching at Mana College in Porirua. From the college she could see the bulldozers stripping the whenua (land) to make way for urban sprawl.

— Text developed for Te Hau Whakatonu: A Series of Never-ending Beginnings (5 August 2023–11 February 2024), curated by Taarati Taiaroa