Patikitiki I and II

 

Gina Matchitt, (left) Patikitiki I and II, Tukutuku (Te Whakatohea, Te Arawa), Tukutuku patterning with plastic computer keys on board, each panel 1800 x 400 mm, 2006; (right) detail. (© Gina Matchitt. Photo: Michael Roth.)

Gina Matchitt in this work explores modes of communication, pondering "the old and the new." Incorporating Tukutuku patterning (cross-stitch weaving) found within the Wharenui (meeting house), a form of communication of another time and era, the artist offers a contemporary commentary on the very idea of communication. Matchitt recycles black and white computer keys as her contemporary means of exchange. Here the artist amalgamates both customary and contemporary modes to send her messages via "Tukutuku express."

Five sets of long, paired Tukutuku panels are installed into the gallery space like a contemporary cyber-Wharenui. The panels are presented in bold contrasting patterns with black and white (grey, really) setting the scene. Upon closer inspection, we find the Tukutuku patterns Kaokao and Patikitiki encrusted using computer keys that sit at differing depths. They provide a surprising textural element to the works, suggesting a sense of movement and texture.

Complementing these patterns---if you read the keys right---messages sit hidden in Matchitt's panels, whereby Whakatauki (Maori proverbs) offer lessons and communicate stories alluding to how customary Maori knowledge was distributed and exchanged. With this combining of the visual and the written, the artist pivots on the literal and the esoteric modes by which Maori now communicate. Rather than making comment regarding the validity of one over the other, Matchitt's panels acknowledge the importance of both.

Text by Nigel Borell
Aotearoa/New Zealand
Edited from Nigel Borell, "E kare, you're so colonised!" 2007,
URL: http://www.marynewtongallery.com/exhibition.php?pageid=exhibition&exhibition_id=68.

Gina Matchitt, artist
Aotearoa/New Zealand/USA
URL: www.marynewtongallery.com/artists.php?pageid=artists&artists_id=27&tabid=2.

Updated 5 November 2009