'Haututū' - David Fine Scholarship Exhibition

Alex Heperi, a Level 7 student from Toimairangi, is the recipient of this year's scholarship from the Hastings Art Centre Trust in memory of the late David Fine.

In Haututū, Heperi provides a glimpse into her past few years and explorations whilst studying at Toimairangi. The freedom afforded to experiment can be seen in the distinctive and unique visual language Heperi has developed for herself. Influenced by her architectural background and driven by intentional and minimalistic design she has explored themes of whakapapa and maramatanga to explore, through various mediums, the properties of light.

At a time when things often appear shallow, void and lifeless; Heperi has attempted to infuse mātauranga Māori and a Te Ao Māori perspective to provide texture, depth, life and wairua to her offerings. Key considerations given to Heperi’s mahi toi include the investigations of form and the interaction of colour and light with objects to provide depth and influence space.

Haututū forms part of Heperi’s latest explorations of “Te Wehenga” or “The Separation” seeking to traverse space and time through the use of intentional colour gradient with abstracted traditional Māori forms. Te Wehenga, provides offerings that are incredibly nuance based on the perspective and perception of the viewer.

The body of work seeks to capture notions of the endless expanse of the universe and how, as a self proclaimed Haututū (Mischief), she hopes to inspire others to be brave in their explorations and endeavours to push the envelope in figuring out their own language in contemporary Māori art, and how they too can contribute to the development and progression of our visual reo (language).

“The possibilities for delving deeper are endless, deeper into whakapapa, deeper into where we come from and deeper into where we are going from here. To be Māori is to be limitless.” – Alex Heperi