This exhibition features recent work by Garry Nicholas and Stephen Thorpe, two artists from Te Awakairangi ki Uta | Upper Hutt in the greater Wellington region. 

Although they work in different mediums, this exhibition highlights their combined knowledge of toi Māori and practice of tuhituhi, which can be defined as drawing but also refers to the foundations of Māori visual languages. Garry draws on wood with a chisel, while Stephen draws on paper or works ink under skin as a recognised ringa tā (moko practitioner). Both like to paint. 

Their work also concerns portraiture in the Māori tradition. Garry observes the ancestral formats of pou, poupou, tekoteko, and kōruru, as documented in carved and painted wharenui. Yet he depicts a contemporary cast of characters endemic to the Wellington region, from the seven Māori electorate MPs in Parliament to bureaucrats and angry faces in online meetings. Stephen’s work, however, imagines the body through drawings envisioned through tā moko or kōwhaiwhai on the heke (ribs) of the whare tupuna, presided over by the ātua of Te Awakairangi ki Uta, pekapeka, morepork, kiwi and kākā, rejuvenated through region-wide conservation efforts. 

Together, Ngā Pou e Rua is an exhibition full of faces carrying the energy of a lively hui or council chamber, and an apt reflection of Upper Hutt City Council’s proudly independent position in the recent local government amalgamation proposals.