Photographer and visual artist Chevron Hassett has created a temporary marae ātea within the heart of our capital city.
Named A Place TU Be, Chevron's new installation is on display in Wellington’s Courtenay Place lightboxes until 24 March.
It features three metre tall portraits of young urban Māori standing in city scapes. Chevron describes the work as digital pouwhenua [land marking posts] in an ātea [public courtyard] or marae.
‘A place to meet, kōrero and grow,’ he says.
Chevron (Ngati Porou, Rongomaiwahine, Ngati Kahungunu ki Mahia) was one of our Seven stars of Matariki last year (ArtZone #69). He said at the time that his work comes from a desire to better understand his Māori and Pākeha heritage.
His Day at the Marae photo essay hit the pages of Capital magazine at the same time (Capital #42). ‘Koraunui Marae fitted well as the idea of a marae is quite close to home for many Capital readers but also quite faraway at the same time,’ he said. ‘I hope the essay was a short bridge into daily life many Māori experience here in Wellington.’
Chev has a passion for cultural identity and social ethnography. ‘As I mature more and more within my art, I find myself getting excited about projects that embody Māori schools of thoughts and concepts. So, at the moment Te Ao Māori is what gets me out of the bed in the morning.’
A Place TU Be
Courtenay Place Ligthboxes, Wellington
Until 24 March