About
This special immersive listening experience invites you into the sonic and submerged world of Whiria ko te iwi tuna, a major newly commissioned project by artist collective ToiaaTaiao (Tihikura Hohaia, Alex Monteith, Maree Sheehan). This amplified offering opens a space to slow down, attune, and listen beneath the surface.
Through immersive visual and sonic storytelling, the project gives form to the underwater lifeworlds of Te Whanganui—a manga within the rohe of Ngaati Moeahu, meeting Te Moana-Taapokopoko-a-Taawhaki near the western-most point of Taranaki. Focussing on the ngutuawa—the final stretch before the river meets the sea—this environment carries the cumulative impacts of more than a century of settler-colonial land and water mismanagement.
Within this space, the voice of the manga embraces audiences through underwater images and frequencies beyond typical human perception. Tuna and piharau glide in shadow, iinanga shimmer like silver threads, kooaro drift through dark currents, and kōura move quietly among stones.
The soundscape—composed from field recordings gathered over years—connects listeners to ihirangaranga: the delicate vibrations and deep resonance of life unfolding through water, stone, and more-than-human beings. Each sound, from the faintest shimmer to the deepest rumble, forms part of an intimate chorus rising from beneath the surface.
Seeking to develop an underwater poetics, the artists position the work within a lineage of activism and change, foregrounding ongoing legislative failure and the undermining of hapū authority in enacting kaitiakitanga.
Settle in. Get comfortable. Bring a yoga mat, a blanket, and warm clothes.
This event is part of a series:
Thu 04 Jun 2026 | 5:30pm - 6:00pm
Thu 18 Jun 2026 | 5:30pm – 6:00pm
Thu 02 Jul 2026 | 5:30pm – 6:00pm
Thu 16 Jul 2026 | 5:30pm – 6:00pm
Image: Toiaa Taiao, Whiria ko te iwi tuna, 2026, audiovisual installation comprised of five-channel synchronised projected video, variable dimensions, with an immersive seven-channel audio configuration, 15:00. installation view Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Ngāmotu New Plymouth, 2026. Courtesy of the artists.
Photo: Samuel Hartnett