Hautāmiro (2025) is an installation by Mataaho Collective, which is led by the ancestral narratives of Tokohurunuku, Tokohururangi, Tokohurumawake and Tokohuruatea, the four winds, or the pillars of the sky. The four were children of Huruteaarangi, an atua of the winds who sent her offspring to the edges of the sky to stand as pou that separated Ranginui and Papatūānuku. Inspired by the dynamic visual language of hukahuka whakarākei, the adornments of customary kākahu, Hautāmiro weaves together materials and techniques in an installation that celebrates adaptation, experimentation and mātauranga Māori across generations.

Hautāmiro extends the length of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Big Wall in the form of an unfurled korowai. Its material language explores the intersections between the natural fibre traditions of kākahu Māori, the arrival of wool with British and European explorers, and Aotearoa’s modern wool industry. Pōkinikini, a type of hukahuka (fringe or tassel on a korowai) made from dried harakeke, and kārure, a traditional two-stranded muka cord, are clasped by plastic insulator claws typically found in electric fencing. Ngore and paheke, which are both decorative woollen elements found on kākahu Māori, are represented by wool-wrapped fencing staples. Each material has associations with clothing and textiles, from the production of garments to the labour of growing and preparing raw materials. Mataaho Collective overlaps processes and materials to create a common space for audiences encountering Hautāmiro and the four winds that are bound together within its different elements.

Mataaho Collective (est.2012) is a collaboration between four Māori artists, Erena Baker-Arapere (Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, and Ngāti Raukawa), Sarah Hudson (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pūkeko, and Tūhoe), Bridget Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāi Te Rangi), and Dr Terri Te Tau (Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa). Known for their large-scale textile installations, Mataaho Collective has been widely acclaimed on the national and international stage for their innovation, and the capacity of their work to create and hold space for Māori ideas and experiences. Their works have been presented at some of the world’s most significant contemporary art exhibitions, including documenta (2017), Biennale of Sydney (2022), Gwangju Biennale (2023), and most recently the Venice Biennale (2024), where they became the first artists from Aotearoa to receive the prestigious Golden Lion award.