This month in Te Kōputu, Lisa Purda will take over the main Brookfields Gallery with her new exhibition Te Maramataka: Ko Wai Koe?

Originally from the Edgecumbe area, Lisa returns to our rohe from the Manawatū where she recently completed a Masters in Māori Visual Art. Through photographing the ephemeral - the life of water - with a camera, a tool that traditionally replicates the real and tangible elements that are placed in front of it, she challenges our perception of what is physically present and what may exist in liminal spaces just beyond our gaze.

As an art teacher Lisa’s core philosophy sits with the idea that art is a mechanism through which we can all experience, understand and protect the world we live in for future generations. Drawing on her rural background, Lisa’s own work often references sustainability and living in harmony with local natural resources. She has focused on Te Maramataka and its general observation of life cycles, in particular the life cycles of wai (water) within the context of human life. There is a challenge to the viewer, prompting them to stop and reflect on what is both seen and unseen in the physical and spiritual world. Lisa’s overarching intention within her exhibition is to provide people with a time and space that allows for a deeper reflection on their own life journey, to contemplate how they might choose to engage with the time and space they have been given to make the world a better place for those that come after us.

The exhibition is full of curiosity and visual inquiry into the root word wā embedded in the word wai, referring to the ongoing evolution of the human race on our planet. The ‘light painting’ approach Lisa uses with her work mimics the process of discovery through the building up of knowledge slowly over time. Lisa is hoping viewers will come away from her show enlightened in more ways than one.

“I’m thrilled to be able to share this here, my entire research journey has literally been a path to illumination over time, and as a Pākehā woman I have been humbled by those who have been so gracious in sharing their indigenous knowledge with me. I’m really happy to be bringing my work back to where it all began.”