Artist - AJ Manaaki Hope

Artist statement -

Aj Manaaki Hope (Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Te Ata) is an interdisciplinary artist from Ōtepoti. Enjoying the element of play that arrises when working through multiple mediums simultaniously, he mixes references from tāoka Māori held inert in museum institutuons, his whakapapa, iwi traditions and belief systems, and wider contemporary culture. By synthesizing these tangible fragments, new configurations of subjectivity are imagined, opening space for narratives that have been refused by colonial legacies.

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A Mouth of Soil’ is a body of work developed over a residency with Paemanu: Ngai Tahu Contemporary Artists over this past summer- funded by @manatutaonga. A.J spent the summer between @punakacollective in Te Whanganui a Tara and his papakāika in Murihiku, reconnecting with hapu, marae and whānau, learning the purakau and history that shapes the identity of Te Taurapa o Te Waka to this day.

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The resulting body of work combines painting, taoka puoro, moving image and sound and evolves from an intimate reflection of place to a universal call for solidarity and liberation, seeking to juxtapose personal experiences with reflections on colonialism and its impact on native landscapes and identities.


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Nau mai, haere mai, whakatau mai ki Rice Pudding for the opening night of A Mouth of Soil on Wednesday 17th of April. Come enjoy a kai, inu and kōrero from 5.30pm.

The show will run from the 18th of April to the 2nd of May.

Opening hours 11-4