So where do I begin...Look to the past, to see the future the sun sets on an old world the sun rises on a new world two worlds worlds apart yet not so different... This sculpted artwork represents the journey of my heritage, the two worlds from where I come. My European ancestors immigrated to New Zealand, to come to a new land, bringing with them everything they owned. My aunty passed on to me a doily, which was made by my great grandmother from the very linen which had travelled over on the immigration journey. The pattern at the top is derived from this doily and is like a sun, setting or rising. Handcrafts skills have been handed down the generations, my grandmother taught me embroidery, crosstitch, knitting and crochet. My mother's whanau are from Waimana, a valley on the north-eastern edge of Te Urewera Rainforest. She also taught me knitting and crochet, as well as taaniko weaving (Maori hand weaving without a loom). The lower design represents a weaving pattern called Aramoana (the waves of the sea). Again these skills were traditionally handed down from generation to generation. The wire represents both the journey from one side of the world to the other, and myself as I come from both these places. So the two worlds of my heritage, the world of the women, they are very different worlds, and yet they are also the same... To these women, I owe so much ...the knowledge of the hands and the mind...
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AuthorRaewyn Tauira Paterson Archives
November 2010
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