I te taunga mai o te rāhui pōkēao, ka tuku a Hori i ana taumaha ki roto ki ana mahi toi.
He maha nga waitohu ka mau i a Hohepa Thompson (he kaiako, he pāpā, he kaireti ngaru, he ringa toi, he tangata tauira). Ko tōna ingoa kārangaranga ko “Hori”. Otirā koia te kaituruki o HORI, he waitohu mō ngā mahi toi, hoahoa, kākahu hoki i hangaia i te tau 2012 hei whakatairanga ake i ngā kaupapa Māori i Aotearoa nei.
“Ko te whāinga a HORI he whakatuwhera i ngā rongo kōrero e pā ana ki ngā kaupapa ahurea, pāpori hoki e whakaaro ana ki ngā take wenerau. E ai ki a Hori, “he tohungatoi Māori au ka tahi, ka rua, he tangata tauira au. Kāore e kotiti i tērā.” He ngākaunui ia ki te mahi hoahoa, ā, kei a ia tōna waitohu kākahu, nānā anō i waihanga mā te poari hoahoa o Miromoda. “Nā te mahi kaireti hukapapa i ārahi i a au ki te mahi hoahoa. Ka eke te whā tau, ka hoki au ki te mahi toi…pai tonu ki a au ngā pōtae tau.”
Ki tā Hōri ko tana mirumiru i te wā o te rāhui nui ko “taku wahine ataahua me ā māua tamariki tokotoru, i tō mātou whare i Ōtaki – he whakamātautau nui kia kore ai e taki rīriri tētahi ki tētahi.” Tāpiri atu ko Ali, tō rātou hoiho. “He hoiho tā mātou mo tā māua kōtiro mātaamua mō Jett. He kama tērā ki te eke hoiho, ā, kua roa a Ali e noho ana i roto i te whānau. Ahakoa taku koretake ki te eke hoiho, ka ngana tonu kia ako ngā tamariki ki te tiaki me te eke hoiho.” Kāore ia i rata ki te noho kōpā, ā, ka pā te mate hinengaro. “Kaore he herenga o tōku ao, ka mutu kua taunga mātou ki ā mātou mahi o ia rā. Nō te pānga mai o te rāhui pōkēao, haruru kau ana taku ao.” Ka rukupopo, ka anipā “ka ngaua taku tero. Ka mea kua whara i roto i te pōuriuri tītakataka ai.
(Stills from Homai Haumaru by Hori. Images courtesy of the artist.)
Ko tana huri koaro tērā ki te waihanga i te whakaaturanga matihiko a Homai Haumaru, a “Gimme Shelter” rānei, kei runga i te whārangi ipurangi thehori.co.nz. “Ahakoa ngā pouritanga i taea e au te tuku i aku pouritanga ki roto i aku mahi toi.” Ko te kaupapa o Homai Haumaru he tiro ki ngā take kahupō me te tauira o te haumaru hei kaikanohi mā te tini rau tangata. “Ko tēnei whakaaturanga e anga nui ana ki ngā tāne Māori, inā ko rātou kei te tino kaha patua e te mate whakamomori. Ko te tūmanako mā tēnei kaupapa ka mārama ake te marea ki ngā take hauora hinengaro me te whakamahara i te tāne Māori he nui ake te mana kei roto i te tuku i ngā mamaetanga e pēhi kino nei i a rātou.”
Ko Ōtaki te tūrangawaewae o Hori – Ko Kapiti te tohu, e whakatata ana te wā kāinga. Ko ōku whakapapa ki te taha o tōku koroua ka pā ki a Ngāti Toa Rangatira, nā reira he motuhake tērā motu nō roto ake i a au.” Engari he rau ōna mahara mō te 10 tau i a ia e noho ana i te pokapū o Te Whanganui-a-Tara. “E kore e maunu te Tiriti o Cuba i tiriti o Cuba i taku whatumanawa. I mua i noho au ki ngā whare i te taha tonu o San Fran. Ko taku tino mahi haututu he tarapeke ki te parani,” ā, e kata ana ia. “I taku hokinga i tērā tau ka hoko tīkiti au ki te mātaki i taku pēne tuatahi i reira, ā, ko Troy Kingi te whetū maiangi i taua pō.” Mena kāore ia i Bristol, kei Huetepara ia, “he pia parauri kei te ringa, me te whakarongo ki a Wu, ki a Iron Maiden rānei – he porohianga kaieke ngaru katoa mātou ko aku hoa. Ko te nuinga o mātou kāore hoki koirā te kāinga.” I ēnei rā kei te noho piri ia ki tana whānau me tana whare mahi ki Ōtaki. Ka papatere atu ia ki Wairarapa mena e papaki ana nga ngaru nui, ā, hei ngā rangi whakatā ko ngā kēmu tākaro: “Aroha nui katoa ki a au te whutupōro me te rīki i Ōtaki, otira he ohu nui ērā kēmu mā te whānau katoa.”
This story has been translated into te reo Māori by Tamahou McGarvey. You can read it in English here.
Written by Francesca Emms
Portrait photography by Victoria Birkinshaw
