Time and Place

Time and Place

He rongonui a Reuben Paterson mo hāna tānga pua ki ngā mea muramura pīataata. I roto i tēnei mahi, kua tāreia, ā, kua whakarākeihia e Paterson te hue, arā, he taonga o te wao e kaha kitea ana tōna hanga i ngā kōwhaiwhai o ngā heke o te wharenui.

I tīmata a Paterson ki te whakairo hue i ngā tau 2005-2006 i te wā e noho ana ia i Kirihi. E kitea ana ngā momo hue katoa i te ao, ā, e whai hononga ana ki te wai, ki te ora me te hūnuku haere. Ko te whātoro piripiri pikipiki horapa o te hue hei whaarite i te hūnuku me te tupu o te whakapapa, e ai ki te whakataukī nei:

He kāwei hue, he kāwei tangata.

Ko te tiki atu a Paterson hei ingoa mō te mahi nei, e whakaatu ana i te tūturutanga me te huahuatau o roto i te tūhonohono i te tāngata i te roanga o te wā me te wāhi hoki.

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Reuben Paterson is renowned for his floral patterned works made with sequins and glitter. In this work, Paterson has sculpted and decorated hue (gourd), the botanical species most closely associated with the artform of Kōwhaiwhai—the painted forms that run along the heke (rafters) of wharenui (meeting houses).

Paterson began working with hue (gourd) in 2005-6 when he was living in Greece. Hue varieties are found world-wide and have common cultural associations with water, survival and migration. The tenacious reaching, climbing and spreading tendrils of the hue vine provides an adept metaphor for migration and the continuity of whakapapa (genealogy) as reflected in the whakatauki (proverb):

He Kawei hue, he kawei tangata.
Descendants are like the runners of the gourd plant.

Paterson’s titling of this work suggests the hue as a literal and metaphorical connector of peoples across time and place.

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