Tūmara Light Show - Matariki Festival 16

The setting was 2 dark & cold evenings in Auckland City, the location was outside the front of Auckland Library & the canvas - the historical St James Theatre. The eveninTg was spent celebrating the beauty of community, colour & culture for Matariki - a combination of traditional performances & contemporary experiences that included a large scale projection mapping experience for the viewer that we headed up.

We were approached to present a body of work that connected my (Janine) Ngāti Paoa iwi heritage with our contemporary art style & experiences. The result was a 5 minute digital story put together by the amazingly talented Daniel Davis & his assistant Marcus who some how took all of our crazy ideas, graphic art work, korero & passion & put it into a digital format. It is the story of my whakapapa, the layers of my family history that connects me back to my papa kainga (ancestral land) & my tupuna (ancestors). The process was about learning, looking forward to the future, reflecting back on the past & celebrating such a special time known as Matariki - the Māori new year. We filmed 4 different generations in my immediate family including my mum & daughter & together we shared a very personal part of heart to the public of Auckland.

We will have the video up soon for you to check out but until then here are a few cool shots taken by Tim Firkin for the Auckland Libraries. Thank you to Auckland Council, Matariki Festival, Auckland Library & everyone involved. Also a huge congratulations to Janine Clarkin & her team for organising such a great event what a privilege to be involved with such an awesome kaupapa.