Artist, architect and māmā Raukura Turei works with whenua-based pigments to create textured paintings that speak of atua wāhine, whakapapa and connection. Her practice draws on clay, sands and kōkōwai/red ochre gathered from the land, uniting material and storytelling. The result is work that shimmers with ancestral presence, while grounded in the everyday. With a new monograph just published, we caught up with Raukura to discuss what sustains her practice, days before she travelled to exhibit at the 36th Bienal de São Paulo.
Why did now feel like the right time to bring your work together in a monograph? The catalyst for the monograph was the exhibition Takoto ai te Marino curated by Karl Chittam at The Dowse in 2023. The show was almost a mini retrospective of various techniques and ideas in my practice since 2020, and it felt fitting to document it in some way. I was heavily pregnant by the opening of the show and saw my time with pēpi/baby as the perfect chance to take stock and be more introspective with my mahi. Little did I know at the time it would turn into such a weighty one. Making a book was also an incredible opportunity to collaborate with many of the creative women around me, who were also hapū or balancing creative practice with small children, particularly Katie Kerr who designed the book. Making things together was rongoā/healing in what can be quite an isolating time.
What did the process of creating it reveal to you about your practice? There is great privilege in the process of publishing a book that is not lost on me. I used this privilege to commission some excellent writing by writers I admire, particularly young wāhine Māori. I am lucky enough to have contributions by Hana Pera Aoake, Kahu Kutia, Sarah Hudson, Kirsty Baker, Elisapeta Heta and Zoe Black. Through their offerings and insights about the practice, I have been able to look at my work anew, cement ideas that I hadn’t yet been able to articulate and further tease out threads of new possibilities. The whole process has been very inspiring and helped to confirm just how important this practice is to me and my whānau.
How does whakapapa guide your creative path today? Whakapapa has always been the driving force, whether I was fully aware of it or not. Today it is very much about the relationships that have opened up as a result of this pursuit — and those yet to come — whether it be invitations to collect whenua together or shared kōrero about my own whānau histories and the connections we still look to make.
What does it mean to be showing at the 36th Bienal de São Paulo? There are no words yet for how I will feel when I walk through the São Paulo Biennial Foundation pavilion and see the vast atua wāhine I have depicted hanging in that immense space. There will definitely be tears and an overwhelming sense of pride and disbelief. Showing at the Bienal is massive for my practice, not just for myself but those who have supported me and shared their mātauranga/wisdom, as this work celebrates the many ringatoi Māori working with whenua and the mana in what we do.
What possibilities are you most drawn to beyond this moment? The freedom that comes with choice and the ability to make the work that needs to come out of me. And I am really looking forward to having a calmer second
half of the year!
raukuraturei.com
Interview Alice Lines
Photography Greta van der Star