John Bevan Ford and Julia Morison

Back in January, when I was exploring Tauranga, I went to the Tauranga Art Gallery and they had an exhibition on two well-known Kiwi artists. Again, as with other parts of the country, it was free entry with the option of a donation, which makes me want to pay because I like being given the choice.

It took me two days to get through the exhibitions. There were others of Samoan artists, but the ones that impressed me the most were the Kiwi works.

I absolutely fell in love with John Bevan Ford's work. He believed in the land and it's mana, or prestige. He used a lot of Maori symbolism in his work and most importantly (in my perspective) he "painted" with such incredible detail that I would stand in front of one of his paintings for a good 10 minutes, just looking at the detail. He specialized in using felt pen and pencil to draw tiny little lines, kind of like pointilism (I think that's the word, where tiny little dots create an image once you've stepped back to take a broader look at it). He did that with tiny little squiggly lines and it awed me. My favorite painting, "Flying Clouds", is huge and amazing but I couldn't find a representation of it on the net. Below are some of his works.

John Bevan Ford


Also on exhibit were works by artist Julia Morison. She's quite interesting. I believe she has a background in design and you can see the exactness of her lines and the almost sterility of her approach to the work. I didn't feel the passion, but the discipline? Yes, very much. The particular exhibit was called Myriorama which was a card game played during the Victorian period. The idea is being able to join different panels together in a multitude of ways and have the pieces still fit together. An interesting concept (hopefully I understood it correctly).

Below, some of her work, though not the exact works from that exhibition. Same style, though.

Julia Morison

Wellington Sightseeing

View of Wellington harbor from the top of Mount Victoria

Wellington: the capital of New Zealand, the home of Parliament and home to the country's most prominent art scene. As you've seen in previous entries, Te Papa Museum is located here, as well as a multitude of little night clubs where live bands play 7 days a week. There are several theaters where plays, operas and musicals are shown year round. And best of all, it's a walking city.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've gone on little trips with the help of Tim, a friend from work. He's taken me to the places that are not easily reached by foot. He's become my unofficial guide, showing me some cool places.

Below: a 360 degree look of Wellington from Mount Victoria

On the same afternoon, we drove out along the Miramar coast and stopped along the way to see William Massey's Romanesque monument. He was a Prime Minister of New Zealand once upon a time and one of the universities in Wellington is named after him.

Massey Monument

Last weekend Tim and I went out again for another day of sightseeing. It was fun! We first went to the War Memorial.

Below: Video of the War Memorial with commentary from Tim (sorry it's sideways, I forgot again!)

One of the many plaques inside the memorial; I thought it was beautiful


I love the carvings here

A statue commemorating all the people who helped save soldiers riding on a donkey in Gallipolli (I found the donkey thing kind of funny, but apparently that's the way it was done back then)

Entrance to the War Memorial

After the memorial, we headed off to Old St. Paul's church. It's really quite small and quaint.


Old St. Paul's

I love the inside...it's so organic and cozy with all the wooden beams. It reminded me of European architecture with the flying buttresses (hope I got that right!).


Inside Old St. Paul's

Tim had told me about St. Paul's cathedral, the new one. I figured it would be worth seeing how they modernized the above cathedral.

What an eyesore, eh? Just a big block of concrete painted in that awful salmon.

But, as we walked inside, there was a man playing the organ and it vibrated through the enormous space decorated a la Art Deco on the ceiling with more pastel. At the far end of the church there was an amazing mosaic called the dossal. I thought it was made with ceramic, but upon questioning the very kind and helpful pastor, I learned that it was made out of fabric pieces. I was entranced. It is beautiful. As I stood there, looking at it, the sun came out from behind clouds and illuminated the dossal. I felt a strange sense of peace and amazement. It was a very special moment. I stood there for about 5 minutes, watching the sunlight wax and wane upon this mosaic. Spirituality can be found in all places and it was strange for me to have found it in a church, having never been religious nor ever wanting to be. But why not, as well? If we can find it in nature, so can we in the things humans make regardless of the location.

The dossal

Across the street from St. Paul's cathedral is the Parliamentary buildings. The picture below is my favorite building because of the beauty of the stone they used.

Parliamentary Building

Close-up of the stone...gorgeous.

Below: video of the Parliamentary grounds

On the grounds, we found some Pohutukawa trees.

Below: Tim gives us a lesson on the flora of New Zealand

Pohutukawa in bloom; rare at this time of year. They usually bloom in December, which is why they are often referred to as the Christmas tree here in New Zealand.

After the Parliament, we decided to go to the Botanical Gardens, which is one of Wellington's crowning jewels. To be honest, I didn't understand the hype. It's not so much a cultivated garden as a kind of park where there are many native plants and trees scattered upon a mountain overlooking Wellington. It's a great place to go to for a picnic or a peaceful walk, but not really that special otherwise. There is an observatory and a planetarium there but they were closed when we went. There is also a rose garden where a cafe is located, but since it's now winter, most of the roses were not in bloom and we arrived too late to warm ourselves up with a hot chocolate. Everything closes early in New Zealand in winter. The cafe closed at 4:00p.m.

But we did discover a cool and strange plant. Tim didn't know what it was either.

Strange bulbous flower

Strange bulbous flower on the plant. The color, that purple (though it looks blue in this picture) reminded me of Violet in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Kinda cool, really.

Random shot of a neighborhood seen from behind the Planetarium. I love that row of houses, each one a different color. Like smiling jack-o-lanterns.

Gorgeous sunset with sculpture by English sculptor Henry Moore

Me and sculpture; as you walked around it, it took on different shapes. Quite interesting.

Below: a silent film of Kiwi clouds. Aotearoa, the Maori name for New Zealand, means Land of the Long White Cloud. I've always loved clouds, their ability to transform and show you images beyond our expectations. I've never been in a country where the clouds move as fast as they do in New Zealand, I guess because of the thinness of New Zealand, wind can cross the island very quickly and the clouds respond accordingly. Below, the clouds are moving at regular speed, but the colors are so magnificent that I wanted to share them with you. Perhaps one of you could write a Haiku in honor of this Kiwi dusk.

Tangi and Whanau

I have spoiled myself with Maori and other Kiwi books over the past few months, wanting to understand the perspective, see the writing styles and learn about Maori customs from a literary stance.

Witi Ihimaera

I have written about my strong emotional reaction to The Bone People, now one of my favorite books of all time. Tangi and Whanau, two novels written by another influential Kiwi writer, Witi Ihimaera, are a good starting point on Maori-themed literature.

Tangi (definition: tears/crying or funeral) and Whanau (definition: family) are connected. Tangi was published first and tells the story of a young man who's lost his father and is realizing the extent of his love for his father and how his passing will affect his life to come. It is an excellent way to be introduced in the world of the Maori people. You live through the emotion of the loss, the customs and traditions of a Tangi and the meaning of what it is to be family.

Though Whanau was published later on, it actually takes place before Tangi, using the same characters, focusing on a wider community rather than on one individual. It shows the trials and tribulations of a community of people, from the same Iwi, and their struggle between the traditional way of life and modern Pakeha (white) ways of living. How the young move away and stop working the land and how the old are holding on to what they know was a sustainable way of life. It is actually a novel that could take place in any land in the sense that indigenous peoples around the world are struggling with these same issues. It is a global dilemna that is often only appreciated after things have gone beyond help.

If you get a chance to read Tangi or Whanau before The Bone People, I think it would help give you a foundation for Maori culture. They are easy and well written reads.

Te Papa Museum

A few weeks ago, Shani and I went to Te Papa Museum, New Zealand's premier national museum. It boasts 4 floors and houses all kinds of exhibitions including geographic, space and other natural exhibits. We were interested in the Maori section and so focused on that here.

A waka (canoe)

Intricate carvings

Close-up of guardian (fertile!)
Inside the waka

As I mentioned in previous entries, a marae is a meeting place, where the community gets together. It is made up of a series of buildings, including the wharenui (big house), the store house, the wharekai (eating house) and other smaller buildings.

Powhiris are done in front of the wharenui.

The Wharenui

Entrance to the Wharenui

Inside the wharenui (not many wharenuis have so much carving inside. Some Iwi have more carvings in their wharenui than others; it all depends on the skill and number of carvers in each Iwi. Some Iwi are better known for their warriors, others for their carving skills, others for their waka constructions etc...)

Close-up of one of the carvings (with abalone or paua used for the eyes)

Carvings on the backside indicative of mokos (tattoos) (see entry on Mitai Maori Village in Rotorua to see a real moko on a chief's body)

More carvings inside the wharenui


The storehouse, where food was stored for the Iwi; this one was donated by the Te Arawa Iwi; the size of the storehouse showed the mana (prestige) of the Iwi; this is a large one, which indicates the wealth of the Iwi.

Close-up of carving by the storehouse

After looking at the wharenui and the storehouse, we went to the Marae, the main entrance to the complex of buildings. Things in the museums are not set up in exactly the way things would be set up normally, but it gives you an idea of the different buildings found in Maraes. The marae at Te Papa is quite unique. They opted for a modern version of the traditional structure.

Modern Marae

Close-up of Modern Marae

Below: a video of the Marae

Below: a video of the sound of a conch used in traditional music; note the difference with the way Haitians have used it

Below: a series of different traditional Maori instruments and what they sound like

Below: using gourdes as instruments

I highly recommend going to Te Papa when in Wellington. It's a beautifully made museum, very modern and free! This is the first time I've gone to a museum that was free. They accept donations, though, so donate freely. There are many other exhibits to see, so I hope to return and see some of the other ones before leaving Wellington. Hope you enjoyed the abridged tour.