Black Painting 1: Red on Black

Black Painting 1: Red on Black

"Kāore tētehi mea, kāore hoki tētehi tānga, e kitea ōritehia ana e te katoa. Heoi anō, e hiahia ana te nuinga i tētehi whakamāramatanga tika rawa atu hei āheinga mā te katoa. Mā te tangata mātai e whakapātaritari i te panonitanga me te tikanga i roto i hēnei mahi."
— Nā Ralph Hotere.

Ka pūkana mai ngā kano me hōna rārangi hei whakaaroaro mā te tangata. Ko te mangu, arā, te ingoa e tere tahi ana ki ngā mahi a Ralph Hotere, he kano hei whakaoho i ngā kōkē e pā ana ki ngā pakanga, ki te riro o te whenua me te ōrokohanga i te rangi.

Ka tīwhana mai ngā kano e whitu o te āniwaniwa, arā, ka tūrama mai te kāteatanga, i te pōuriuritanga o hēnei tānga. Ko tēnei pāhekohekotanga hei tohu i ngā kura i hua mai i Te Kore, i te kōpanitanga o Te Pō, ā, tae rawa ake ki te whei ao, ki te ao mārama i hua mai i te māwehetanga o Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku. He huahuatau tēnei whakapapa kōrero hei tohu i te orokohanga o ngā mea katoa; te ao tūroa, te oranga, te auahatanga me te māramatanga.

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"No object, and certainly no painting, is seen in the same way by everyone, yet most people want an unmistakable meaning which is accessible to all in a work of art. It is the spectator which provokes the change and meaning in these works."
— Ralph Hotere

Stripped of extraneous detail, these paintings present colour and line for contemplation. Black, synonymous with Ralph Hotere’s works, is a colour that evokes narratives of conflict, the loss of land and celestial beginnings.

The darkness of these paintings is pierced by lines in the seven colours of the rainbow, which together comprise white light. This transition recalls black as symbolic of the potential that stirred in Te Kore (the great void), the oppression of Te Pō (the long night) and the moment light entered the world through the separation of Ranginui (sky father) and Papatūānuku (earth mother). As a sequence of events, this whakapapa kōrero (creation narrative) is a metaphor for the beginnings of all things: the universe, a life, creativity and understanding.

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