After calamity ... may we be strong.

 

Maori rebel flag: Aotearoa

Ralph Hotere

Cruciform II Ralph Hotere - from Human Rights series

Colin McCahon

Tīkoki ana te waka o Aoraki!
Ko Rūaumoko e ngunguru nei!
He parekura! He parekura! He parekura e!

Ko te motu whānui tonu kua pani.
Kei te hunga kua riro ki te pō, moe mai rā.
Kei ngā makorea, he aha rā he kōrero mō koutou?

Ko te Atua hei whakawhirinakitanga atu mō koutou
hei aupehi i te mamae, ā ngākau, ā wairua.
Kia piki te ora, piki te kaha ki a koutou katoa.

The canoe of Aoraki rocks!
It is Rūaumoko, earth shaker, rumbling!
Causing great calamity! 

The nation mourns.
To those who’ve breathed their last breath,
Rest in peace.

To the survivors, what words can we possibly say?
Let the Creator be your support in this time of pain.
Be strong, get well soon.

"Te Papa expresses its sympathy for the people of Christchurch" is the title of a post I found this morning on the blog of the Te Papa Museum in Wellington , NZ's capital city. The Maori culture is wonderfully represented in this excellent museum... I'm adding this as well....

In the Wellington Foyer, Level 2 of the Museum there is now a place for staff and members of the public to express their condolences. On display is a small boulder of pounamu, symbolising aroha – love and support – for the earthquake victims, their families and friends. It has a tangible connection with the South Island – Te Wai Pounamu – as it was sourced from the Arahura River, Westland. This variety of pounamu is known as kawakawa – as are the leaves of mourning placed on the case in which it sits.

If you would like to help with the Christchurch Quake Appeal, you can do so through the Red Cross, Mayoral Fund and Salvation Army to name a few. There is also a donations box at Te Papa. All donations will be passed on to the emergency services.

A Museum publication

Alembic (The sea) -Ross James

Lava field - Grant Keith

South Westland - Russell Clark

Pam Debenham 1984

Richard Kileen 

All images above form the Te Papa online collections. Below images form Christchurch Art Gallery.

Doris Lusk - Yachts on Littleton Harbour

Doris Lusk - Canterbury Plains from Cashmere Hills

Its always fascinating to view work that comes from a particular region... despite the universality of ideas, medium and forms of art there is much to be said for pouring over the collected works coming from a particular part of the world ... it can offer another layer of experience that can be incredibly useful for gleaning insight into a place and its people.


The artist below, Ray Crooke, painted memorable works from the islands of northern Queensland and the Pacific. After viewing his work a certain yearning to visit comes over me. I found an interesting Qld State Library reference to his work here. I really hope to get to Cairns and the north this year ... the recent cyclone has left many with an incredible task ahead of them. To anyone who's trying to rebuild my thoughts go out to you... wherever you may be!

Ray Crooke

Ray Crooke - Island song

Ray Crooke

Before I head off I want to mention this astonishingly watchable film I saw with friends last night. The title of this post - "After calamity... may we be strong" - is fitting.  INSIDE JOB offers up a  brilliantly constructed analysis on what brought us to our knees globally in the Global Financial Crisis ... and poignantly makes links to the most vulnerable in this story of global consequence ...those who suffered loss of homes, livelihoods, opportunities, accees to education... the homeless and impoverished ... and for what... the greed of a few and the benefit of the top 1%.  I thought this film might be arduous... it was actually compelling and a must see... and this morning I read that the future of food is being gambled on in the same way the sub-prime housing market was. I'm just getting my head around that... there'll be more at the homage to the seed blog as soon as possible on that! This is an emerging story!!!

Inside Job is up for an Oscar... I dont know what other films it's up against... no doubt other very deserving docos... can I just say... if you have not seen this film... see it.... whether or not it wins an Oscar...

we all need to know the background to this story .... and the biggest shock for me... some of the very same people who architected the avoidable fate of so many in 2008 are back in key position in US GOVT etc. WHAT IS THIS??????

This affects all of us... artists have had a big wake up call along with everyone else. People are thinking twice about how they spend their money ... this film will make you think a few more times too!

Have a good week ... and as a wonderful blogosphere friend says:

Be safe all.  Be strong.  Be smart.  Persist.

visit Mlle Paradis here

PS I promise I'll post something lighter next time. I have finally got some huge tasks out of the way and my paints are sitting there staring at me... its been 6 weeks since i was in a position to paint... and Im missing it badly!