He Tirohanga ki Tai: Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery

He Tirohanga Ki Tai (A View from the Shoreline): Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery is an exhibition featuring both leading and emerging Māori artists, who have created a completely sovereign space, supported by Indigenous funds, to hold a conversation critiquing the Cook invasion, the ensuing colonial experience, up to and including the TUIA250 events.

This exhibition started at Tairāwhiti Museum, in Whataupoko, Tūranganui a Kiwa, not far from the actual site of invasion itself. It has subsequently toured to New York, where it was hosted by the ORA Gallery in Manhattan and accompanied with talks by First Nations scholars on the specific impacts of the Doctrine of Discovery and Indigenous women.

It is presented in the Calder & Lawson Gallery during the NAISA 2019 (Native American and Indigenous Studies) Conference hosted by the University of Waikato. This year is the first NAISA conference to be held outside of the US and Canada, and will be held at the University from 26 - 29 June.

"He Tirohanga ki Tai: Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery is an art exhibition and public forum that addresses the historical fallacy of the European ‘discovery’ of Aotearoa New Zealand. As the title suggests, he tirohanga ki tai (a view from the shore), the exhibition provides an indigenous perspective looking out from our place in the world." - Reuben Friend, Director – Pataka Art + Museum, Porirua City

The exhibition features works by Robyn Kahukiwa, Rachael Rakena, Ngāhina Hohaia, Israel Tangaroa Birch, Tina Ngata, Tāwera Tahuri, Charlotte Graham, Numangatini MacKenzie, Kauri Hawkins, Derek Lardelli, John Moetara and Emily Kitson.

Curated by: Tina Ngata