Seini's Blog for Earth-Centred Design and Cultural Sustainability

Auckland Museum

Curator comments:

• The exhibition is different with the intention of being multi disciplinary.
• The set up of the exhibition is not meant to be chronological, not linear in the way it has been arranged – rather it is grammatically grouped.
• Manawhenua – ngatipaua, Tainui and Ngatiroukawa, the 3 iwis connected to area where museum situated. The 3 bird sculptures are a representation of these 3 tribes, all of whom have had some involvement in the making of the exhibition.
  

Below are raw notes taken during the tour

• Corbin family from Lebanon – garments are tradition Lebanese costume from 
• The mat was gifted to the family by Queen Salote
• People who have migrated to NZ for a better life also bought their cultural practices which further enriched NZ history around textiles 

• E-pop based on K-road 
• Story of gentrification starting with K-road initially being a place for minorities but is now upcoming with the change in demographic
• Was referred to working persons Queen Street and used to be known as Coconut Grove as it used to house clothing stores, food stores etc aimed at Islanders

• apron made out of sugar bags
• History of NZ and the water ways being a source of income that helped our economy 
• Everyone used the Chelsea sugar packs to make clothing, door mats etc 
• Sugar was a source of class indicator because it was considered a luxury item in early times 
• Germatia who were India’s bought to Fiji to grow the sugar – at the time slavery was outlawed and so NZ found a way to exploit people without breaking the law
• Indian people were bought to Fiji under false pretences 

• textile conservation 
• Flag no effort to patch up the holes etc to show the aging of the textile 
• Can see the fine meet used to make the flag 

• Tiki tiki tangata
• The bringing to peoples together 
• Rarotonga blanket – pacific art centre from Henderson 
• Mama Miriama commissioned to make blanket – stitched by hand 
• Tauonga – meaning master of superior maker of… 
• The blanket is recalling the red hibiscus that surrounded her during her childhood 

• Black poi- Māori
• Not very common to have black poi as generally while 

• Gold dress with mirrored head piece 
• To address gaps in the collection – because certain lives are more often considered more important than others and through that, the representation of certain lives are completely ignored 
• One being that of the queer group 
• Staircase was a club that historically held a space for drag people 
• Biography style exhibition to make one feel as though they are sitting with them and talking to one another 
• Want to encourage empathy and by displaying the dress to closely, leads you to see yourself in the dress etc 

• Light turquoise co-ord with silver sequent 
• Loaned Auckland Chinese community Centre from 1960’s
• Important to have the makeup as it is very much part of the costume 
• Limitations as only one mannequin maker therefore features are quite European and not reflective of the Chinese face 

• Black Panther 
• Komaranga – aim as a activation space to encourage thought, the challenge the status quo
• This is the black panther jacket
• Acquisition money was used by black panther for a scholar for student studying activists movements in Aotearoa
• Differentiation from black panther was the aloha shirt that would generally be worn underneath 
• Dress was made by Ana where it depicts the protest of Maori confiscated land 

• Pacific sisters dressing 
• 1 of 3 garments 
• Each set of clothing based on moruroa 
• Welder wasp forms the headpiece l, has contemporary style titi (meaning skirt), video tape film is the skirt..
• Aitu (god like figures) – the other 2 with the idea that they are protecting rather than protesting 
• Stone is the right hand – artist bought back from Rarotonga which is representative of partner who passed away
• Sand below – different textured ideas 
• This is representing the story of impact on islands that were used in military testing 

• Queer activism 
• Louisa Ward, dress worn when equal rights in marriage allowing gay marriage 
• Importance of symbolism with the rainbow to evoke the importance of the moment for queer community
• Emily who painted banner is know for evoking change and draws from different art sources and participates in different areas of activism – painted on Tapa
• Connection of Maori with Tapa/bark cloth however more known practice within the Pacifica islands

• Key point to see explore fashion as an act of activation 
• Fashion can be radical in the ways we explore textiles, symbolism to hold stories of experience and memories 

• acquisition Tuhiramgi Blair who went through AUT
• Collection of 10 shirts, this includes with mannequins wearing double layers too
• Items made by shower curtains, old tents, blankets etc
• Biographic as it has photos on the shorts etc
• Based on decolonisation as each shirt represents different forms activism etc 
• Biography serves purpose to drive away from this very colonised gaze where one would explain at assumed facts which takes the story, life, emotional essence 
• In some context, this would be considered low art – wanting to disrupt this idea by taking these categories out of the equation because high art does tend to be geared towards art made by a certain group of people 

Discussion with curator, Giles and Harita

• Colonial infrastructure so needing to speak to this and one of the ways one can do this is by disrupting the standard use of items, disrupted conversation around it etc
• Looking to intersect ideas by exploring the many different ways one can find meaning and what it does 
• Body adornment, how do they function, how do they function when worn in a certain space
• Activation point can be a person as once you see something, you decide how you understand it and how it impacts you 

What I learnt from the exhibition?

The exhibition showed me that fashion has been used as a form of political and cultural activism throughout time. Minority groups have used fashion as a way to archive their cultural histories, resist colonialism and has used this as a way to disrupt the status quo. The works in this exhibition beautifully represents all minority groups, including those who are generally excluded from the conversation i.e. queer people.