TUA O TE ĀRAI - beyond the veil, after death
Shrouded in mystery, the passage of the dead in Maori ancestral stories is relayed as a series of arduous tests to complete on their way to the spiritual homeland of Hawaiki. The journey converges at Te Oneroa a Tohe (Ninety Mile Beach), a symbolic vista curving its way to Te Rerenga Wairua - Leaping place of spirits. A spiritual hiatus takes place at Te Ārai, a resting place for spirits, a site for talismans created by the dead, symbols of a life lived, lamentation artefacts, remembrance objects both real and abstract. Repose, pathways of land, ocean and sky. Crawl, walk, run, and dance Te Arai, a world beyond ours, transit of the departed, ephemeral footsteps, relentless journey.
Creative Development and Performance 2020 - 2022
Tua o Te Ārai creatively crosses over to the lifeless, an exploration of grief, bereavement and lamentation. A philisophical contemplation of an afterlife and the unknown. Tua o Te Ārai proposes four spaces, creatively considered as customary, remembered, nearly forgotten and unknown.
Urupa - burial ground, cemetery, graveyard (customary)
Atamira - an elevated platform for the dead, corpse (remembered)
Tuahu - ceremonial platform, sacred place for ritual practices (nearly forgotten)
Te Arai - a threshold, resting place for the dead (unknown)
Through an examination of grief, bereavement and lamentation Tua o Te Ārai will explore the possibilities of the communal and ceremonial body in performance. The performance development will explore hiatus and repose, the aesthetic preparation and presentation of the dead, keening, lamentation songs and artifact making. These provocations provide a platform to develop and explore choreographic thresholds, the cultural precipice, transgression and liminality.
Urupa - burial ground, cemetery, graveyard (customary)
Atamira - an elevated platform for the dead, corpse (remembered)
Tuahu - ceremonial platform, sacred place for ritual practices (nearly forgotten)
Te Arai - a threshold, resting place for the dead (unknown)
Through an examination of grief, bereavement and lamentation Tua o Te Ārai will explore the possibilities of the communal and ceremonial body in performance. The performance development will explore hiatus and repose, the aesthetic preparation and presentation of the dead, keening, lamentation songs and artifact making. These provocations provide a platform to develop and explore choreographic thresholds, the cultural precipice, transgression and liminality.
Research, Development and Performance 2015 - 2019
Research series of workshops, performance ceremony, facilitated artist residencies, symposium and conference presentations exploring and re-addressing the space of Grief, Bereavement and Lamentation.
Hiatus and Repose - movement, spatial, design exploration
Artifact Making - remembrance, talisman, keepsake, memento
Tikiwananga - binding, weaving and lashing
Ataamira - aesthetic preparation and presentation of the dead
Rakau Atua - transit staff (space), earth post (negotiate), sky pillar (conduit)
Hiatus and Repose - movement, spatial, design exploration
Artifact Making - remembrance, talisman, keepsake, memento
Tikiwananga - binding, weaving and lashing
Ataamira - aesthetic preparation and presentation of the dead
Rakau Atua - transit staff (space), earth post (negotiate), sky pillar (conduit)
