Mātūtū

Kawakawa is a native plant used in rongoā, it is found in abundance in almost all conditions including in

highly populated urban areas. It has connections to removal of tapu and is one of the most powerful

antiseptics of all native plants.

Gorse is native to Western Europe, and was brought to Aotearoa during early stages of colonisation as a

type hedging. Even after the plant quickly spread and became uncontrollable active importing of the plant

was not halted till the 1960’s.

Mātūtū is an exploration of cultural dynamics contextualised in an ecological space. Like many

colonised cultures there is a rich history of ecological imperialism in Aotearoa and the effects

continue to be apparent in the landscape. This work depicts the cultural contrast between our

Māori and Pākehā bodies navigating the tension of colonisation in its current and residual effects.

Ana and I are wearing dresses we made, which have a large pocket in the front for harvesting our plants, each dress was dyed using kawakawa berries for Ana and gorse flowers for me, Holly.