Huakina: an artist’s project by Para Matchitt

Tu Tangata, Issue 32, 1 October 1986, Page 59

Huakina: an artist’s project by Para Matchitt

On show at Wellington’s National Art Gallery is HUAKINA, a sculptural installation by Para Matchitt.

Born at Tokomaru Bay in 1933, Matchitt’s formal art training came from his kinsman, the master carver Pine Taiapa who taught Matchitt not just to illustrate traditional themes, but rather to penetrate their mysteries. Since his first one person show at the Waikato Society of Arts in 1962 Para Matchitt has exhibited extensively, developing a style of geometric abstraction in which carving technique and decoration are related to tribal symbols and cultural themes.

This artist is well known for his carved sentinels, wooden wall reliefs, mural constructions and his paintings. While some are in private or art museum collections, others are in public places, the Kimiora mural at Turangawaewae in Ngaruawahia being one of his most celebrated works. Its elaborate use of painting, sculpture, tukutuku and scroll koru motif involved work by hundreds of participants from both the local and the wider community. In this context Matchitt’s works become something to be shared, not only in their completed form but also during the process of their making.

In HUAKINA Para Matchitt is driven by the symbolism that has been a personal preoccupation for some twenty years, the symbols of Te Kooti and his Ringatu religion. The image of the battleflag embodies the spirit of Te Kooti’s story with symbols of the moon, the morning star, the mountain, the Christian cross, the bleeding heart and the four houses of playing cards ex-

pressing the faith of people living close to natural rhythms. In addition to his own work Para Matchitt is an experienced teacher and art advisor. He has also been involved with numerous marae projects, Nga Puna Waihanga (N.Z. Maori Writers and Artists Society) and is a member of the International Society for Education Through Art.