12 Sep 2011

Haka Peep Show aims to provoke discussion

11:51 am on 12 September 2011

A 3D Haka Peep Show artwork set up in Dunedin during the Rugby World Cup aims to provoke public discussion on exploitation and use of Maori intellectual and cultural property.

Haka Peep Show has been produced by internationally recognised Ngai Tahu artist Rachael Rakena and is presented in partnership by Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu and Dunedin City Council.

The towering black pou, or carved post, will house three-dimensional video art works that the public can view like a peepshow.

The Ngai Tahu kaiwhakahaere Mark Solomon says the display has its potency in addressing issues of exploitation and use of Maori intellectual and cultural property.

He says his South Island iwi supports and encourages these types of discussions, through art or any other medium, as society continues to shape New Zealand's collective identity.

Dunedin mayor Dave Cull says Haka Peep Show is a unique way of showing tourists and residents alike during the tournament the increasingly strong links that exist between Dunedin City and its tangata whenua.

It features four haka performed by prominent Maori including Tuhoe activist Tame Iti and Ngai Tahu and Ngati Porou leader Selwyn Parata.