Te Tuna-Whiri: The Knot of Eels

Abstract

In a context of global transcultural aesthetics, Barnett speculates on the role and efficacy of contemporary Māori art. She insists upon the decolonizing necessity of reading Māori things (in this case, an installation by Māori artist Terri Te Tau) according to Māori terms of reference: taonga (treasured things), hau (life breath) and mauri (life force). Barnett discusses the limits of this approach for uninitiated viewers. She argues for the ability of contemporary Māori taonga–artworks to activate multiple cultural cosmologies and engagements. Such artworks can render palpable the limits of imperialist ideologies, bringing diverse viewers into non-objectifying encounters with immanent difference. Simultaneously—even at a distance—contemporary taonga–artworks perform as taonga for their communities, animating hau, keeping ancestors alive and calling us into relation.