Ka Aro Kia Āro -Turn your focus to know, understand by Irihipeti Waretini

This photographic, carving, and visual art series centres the rākau (paper, tree, wood, carving, taonga) as living declarations of ancestral presence, grief, and memory. Through the interplay of darkness and light, each image reflects a desire to reconnect to our place of belonging. The work traces how Māori communities weave connection, continuity, and cultural accountability to First Peoples’ lands and Lore.

This exhibition is a Carving Gang production and forms part of Dark Matters, a long-term project examining decolonial healing, Indigenous spirituality, and the reclamation of grief practices. Together, these works explore the forces that shape cultural identity, intergenerational trauma, and the ongoing responsibility to maintain ethical and relational ties to Indigenous peoples.

Artist Bio
Irihipeti Waretini is a multidisciplinary community artist nurtured by the people and culture of Naarm. Her creative practises are vast and prioritise collective learning, healing, justice, and redistribution of resources. She creates and curates living archives for Indigenous methodologies and ways of being, through various collaborations, movement and wellness-based practises, and creative ventures including Carving Gang: A contemporary arts collective with Hayes Keepa that revives tikanga Māori through the art of traditional Māori carving.

Image credit: Irihipeti Waretini as part of the exhibition