Robert Jahnke (Ngāi Taharora, Te Whānau a Iritekura, Te Whānau a Rakairo o Ngāti Porou) speaks to Contemporary HUM about his work Te Wepu MMXXIII, which is featured in the 7th edition of Personal Structures in Venice. Jahnke discusses the source of the symbols featured in Te Wepu MMXXIII, which were derived from the battle flag of the 19th-century Māori prophet Te Kooti. In this layered and historically ranging conversation, Jahnke highlights a formal whakapapa (genealogy) between Te Kooti, who was not only a religious visionary but an artistic innovator in his own right, and contemporary uses of the symbols, including by the late sculptor and painter Paratene Matchitt.

Visit Contemporary HUM for an edited transcript published with images from Venice: https://contemporaryhum.com/writing/crossing-currents-episode-7/

This series is produced with the support of Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa, with editing and mixing by Hamish Petersen. Cultural advisory is provided by Matariki Williams, graphic design by Emma Kaniuk, and music by João Veríssimo. New episodes are released on Saturdays starting 22 June 2024.

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