Shannon Te Ao: Ia rā, ia rā (rere runga, rere raro)

Shannon Te Ao’s immersive moving image work Ia rā, ia rā (rere runga, rere raro), makes its return home to Whanganui-a-tara Wellington after showing in Australia, South Korea and Hawai’i.

Everyday (I fly high, I fly low). This seemingly simple description of a moment in time belies a much more emphatic declaration of the need to be present during a period of radical turbulence and unrest. Being anchored in the ‘now’ has become a much-maligned notion often associated with the trends of mindfulness and transcendental meditation. Here artist Shannon Te Ao reflects a more lived understanding of presence for Māori – a moment that is constantly in a state of modification and connection, transforming from instant to instant like the blink of an eye or the crest of a wave.

The unseen protagonist of this work is the tīwakawaka, a small bird linked over the centuries with Māori narratives associated with birth, death and the veil between the two. Known as territorial, agile, and often erratic, tīwakawaka can be plucky to the point of fearless. They have over fourteen known variations on their name reflecting their untamable and ephemeral nature. Māori histories tie tīwakawaka to the atua (gods) including Tāne-mahuta, god of the forests and father of humankind, and Māui, a demi-god known for his mischievous exploits. Tīwakawaka played a pivotal role in the events leading to Māui’s demise and as a result are often connected to stories of mortality. Considered a messenger of ensuing life events, or as a harbinger of death, this petite bird is for Māori a living connection across time and space, operating between the tangible and intangible.

The imagery within this work captures two young men in motion. Each gesture and movement frozen in time like the mercurial dance of the tīwakawaka. Alongside the synchronized thirty-six still images contained within Ia rā, ia rā (rere runga, rere raro), a pao (song) composed and performed by Kurt Komene supplies the melodic and uplifting soundtrack that acts as both script and score. His lyrics, like the flowing actions of the performers, follow the tīwakawaka’s flight path - rere runga, rere raro, I fly high, I fly low.

The tīwakawaka’s presence is carried through every environment, other living things, histories, life and death. In the current moment, our daily lives are pressured by the unpredictability of change and experienced under the clouded fallout of a global pandemic resulting in an increasing gap between the rich and poor and the ongoing damage of colonialism. Indigenous ideas and movements that were once assumed unique and intact have become irreversibly entangled. Political thought is no longer set along poles but have collapsed. We are required to think and act beyond limiting frameworks and the fundamental dimensions of life are being re-membered, re-purposed and re-born. A growing critical mass pursue a moment of recalibration in support of newfound freedoms. Simple acts that undo limited ways of being continue to gain traction and thrive. Language and cultural knowledge sit amongst the most vital assets in this vein enabling simple steps toward profound transformation.

Originally commissioned by Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art, this new iteration of Ia rā, ia rā (rere runga, rere raro) shifts the encounter with Te Ao’s work from one of a viewer looking on, to the participant being immersed within the imagery and soundscape. This ability of the work to change form and be responsive and agile to its environment echos the tīwakawaka’s nature - its flashing, fluttering journey guiding us simultaneously toward and away from the present moment.

Shannon Te Ao's (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Wairangi, Te Pāpaka-a-Māui)
recent film and photographic works bring together markers of place, movement and experience. Often melancholic in tone, the imagery within his work reflects upon personal narratives, historical events and collaboration as means to explore Māori thought and experience. Te Ao has exhibited widely nationally and internationally with his seminal work two shoots that stretch far out (2013–4) shown in the Biennale of Sydney in 2014, later earning him Aotearoa New Zealand’s most coveted award, the Walters Prize, in 2016. He has completed commissions for the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10) and 13th Gwangju Biennale. Te Ao recently presented solo exhibitions at REMAI Modern (Saskatoon); Oakville Galleries (Toronto), and Te Uru (Tamaki Makaurau Auckland), and curated the exhibition Matarau at City Gallery Wellington. Te Ao is a member of the rōpū (board) of Coastal Signs (Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland).

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