PROGRAMME NOTE

The shore is a threshold, an inbetween zone, a perpetually shifting meeting point of the land and sea that prompts us to examine our relationship to both

– from the ‘Taimoana Coastlines: Art in Aotearoa’ exhibition by Auckland Art Gallery

Taimoana explores Aotearoa through the lens of our shorelines, asking how our experiences are shaped through our connection with the moana. Throughout four movements we explore a combined whakapapa between people and nature; examining the birth of both land and people, experiences in the ocean, experiences on land, and the connections between death and water. How are our human experiences similar to the lifecycles within the moana and whenua? How can we compare the muddied boundaries of the coastline with the blurred lines between birth, death, and life? How do spiritual connections, creation stories, and religion influence our experiences of the ocean? How do they influence our connections to the land?