About
In Fibrous Soul, Sorawit Songsataya considers ways to imagine accumulation, transformation and measures that record the passage of time. Thinking across multiple scales—from the perspective of an individual life, to the slow-moving geological cycles of formation and renewal of the whenua beneath our feet, Songsataya’s work asks what it means to think, make and build relationships from within the many histories we inhabit.
Join us for an afternoon of free kōrero with three invited speakers, who will bring their own knowledge of, experience within and connections to the land to respond to works and ideas in the show.
Hear from Acushla Dee Sciascia (Ngāruahine Rangi, Ngāti Ruanui, Te Āti Awa), Sophie White (Te Ātiawa, Manukorihi), and Ngahina Capper (Te Ātiawa Taranaki, Ngāti Ruanui, Tāngahoe, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Maniapoto).
Acushla Dee Sciascia
(Ngāruahine Rangi, Ngāti Ruanui, Te Āti Awa)
Acushla Dee Sciascia completed her doctoral studies in 2013 with Massey University and has since been working in the public sector as a researcher, evaluator and strategist, recently as co-leader, Whanake te Kura i Tawhiti Nui. Dee’s research background has primarily emerged from kaupapa Māori research, specifically Māori negotiating and navigating new technologies and online environments. Her research interests have transitioned into the climate change space. She was on the National Risk Assessment Framework for Climate Change panel and is co-leading the Mātauranga ā iwi programme in the ‘Transitioning Taranaki’ MBIE Endeavour-funded programme. Dee is passionate and committed to championing mātauranga Māori across disciplines, working towards the recognition of the value and mana of our knowledge system in its own right in the sciences, particularly through the Resilience Challenge.
Ngahina Capper
(Te Ātiawa Taranaki, Ngāti Ruanui, Tāngahoe, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Maniapoto)
Pou Amotake / Operations Manager – Taranaki Mounga Project.
Ngahina has a deep affection for te taiao and has the honour of serving his tūpuna maunga as the Pou Amotake (Operations Manager) for Taranaki Mounga Project. He previously worked as a Kaitiaki Whenua with Te Kāhui o Taranaki – a role that was initiated through a partnership with DOC, helping grow and develop its taiao team. Before stepping into the taiao space he had close to 20 years working in the mining and petrochemical industry across Australasia where he held a variety of leadership positions, before completing a stint as operations manager for Taranaki Rugby League. Ngahina enjoys spending time with his whānau, including his seven children and one mokopuna, and has a new-found passion for helping establish his own whānau papakāinga.
Sophie White
(Te Ātiawa, Manukorihi)
Palaeontology Lab Manager and Collections, Department of Geology, University of Otago.
Sophie White works as the Palaeontology Lab manager and collections technician at the University of Otago Department of Geology, with ancestral fossil whales from the limestone valleys of the Waitaki. With a background in landscape archaeology, whale strandings and recoveries, natural materials and the making of taonga tūturu, Sophie also works around Te Waipounamu with makers and practitioners exploring traditional pathways and resources with communities.