Te Huri Wai

“Te Huri Wai” refers to the weather cycle and the presence of personified winds and water based on an ancient account of southern Aotearoa (New Zealand). The artwork takes its narrative from the oral account of Teone Taare Tikao, a tohunga (knowledgeable expert) from the lands of the Waitaha people and it is brought to life through the breath of Waitaha descendant Cathy Livermore. In the Māori world, personifications depict the ‘natural’ world as ancestors or extended family members. The narrative of the work features the feminine forces of the powerful Hine-pu-nui-o-toka, the wind from the south-west and her five daughters: Hine-aroraki who presides over the soaring of the birds; Hine-aroaro-pari who oversees the echoes on the cliffs next to the sea; Hine-hauone who commands the sands at the meeting of the ocean and land; Hine-roroki, the northerly wind; and Hine-rotia, the westerly. The speakers are orientated in relation to each wind’s assigned direction. A further sound source holds the place of water. These weather ‘forces’ announce themselves so that we listen and hear their presence.

With a soundscape by Makis Faros created especially for the work as a gesture of cultural exchange. Faros’s contribution refers to the Greek mountainous countryside and its particular sounds. Different elements come together without overlapping, and mimic the poetic function of memory.