AHI TERETERE

Laree Payne is delighted to share Ahi Teretere, a new body of work commissioned for the re-opening of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery by Tia Ranginui (Ngāti Hine Oneone). Please find images and details relating to eight photographic works below (the Gallery is yet to release details relating to the video work which belongs to the same series) along with a supporting text written by Aiden Ritchie (Ngāi Tahu, Kati Māmoe).

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"Tia Ranginui's Ahi Teretere plays on the complicated and nuanced emotions provoked by returning home - a concept that for many resounds with familiarity, comfort and belonging. However for many Māori, 'home' can be a loaded ideal that does not translate into our current reality. Disconnection from whenua, loss of tikanga and intergenerational trauma hold mamae that disturbs the mauri of what it means to feel at home.

Ahi Kā is a common and important concept for all Māori - keeping the home fires burning is both literally and metaphorically a symbol of occupation, however Ahi Teretere refers to an unstable or flickering fire, and a lack of warmth provided in its hearth.

Ahi Teretere responds to the emotions provoked for Ranginui in returning to her papa kāinga on Te Awa Whanganui. This series of images engage themes of fire and ice - where flames battle desperately against their cold, unwelcoming environments.

Many of the images feature Ranginui's two daughters bearing these flames against their surroundings; symbolising not only their defiance within the theme of Ahi Teretere, but also the way in which this this concept is handed down through whakapapa and becomes an intergenerational battle that many Māori fight both externally and internally to overcome, seeking to be embraced by the warmth of their whenua.

The creation of these photographs also holds metaphors for the theme of Ahi Teretere. The timing of the shots required cosmic perfection due to the unpredictable nature of the fire. In Ranginui's images, the Ahi depicted flashes into life for barely a second, momentarily providing a burst of warmth and vibrancy - before inevitably succumbing to its reality.

This series also serves as a reminder of the duality of fire - as quickly as it warms and comforts so too can it burn and scar; a powerful reflection of the reality that many tangata whenua face journeying towards their Ahi Kā and the continuous battle that resides within when searching for the ideal of home. Even within the embrace of your Ahi Kā you can be burnt - but too far away and you may forget its warmth."

- Aiden Ritchie