LINEOUT

works by Jodi Tautari
Ngati Apakura, Ngati Whanaunga, Ngati Kahungunu

Artist’s Statement

Timeless, ageless, fashioned by skilled hands
Loved, cherished, born of cold stone
Treasured, revered, warmed at the bosom
Polynesian, Maori, the keeper of secrets
No Hawaiki mai, tuku iho e

Enduring, resilient, lived of nature
Changing, shifting, a forced metamorphosis
Vilified, commodified, victim of legend
Polynesian, Maori, the keeper of secrets
No Hawaiki mai, tuku iho e

Mate atu he tetekura
Ara mai ra he tetekura
One may fall away
But another will take their place
Invincible, incomparable
Kia toa! Aotearoa!

A nation of warriors
“A soldier-making game”
“Ah comradeship, the common cause”
“The opium of the Kiwi people”
Rugby, thugby, king of games
Game of kings

“Material thinking occurs in the making of works of art. It happens when the artist dares to ask the simple but far-reaching questions What matters? What is the material of thought?”... Carter 2004

‘Line out’ is the manifestation of an intellectual adventure peculiar to the making process. These works are the materialisation of hand, eye and mind, fundamental elements of creative knowledge.
In his book ‘Material Thinking’ Paul Carter speaks of “the great role works of art can play in the ethical project of becoming (collectively and individually) oneself in a particular place.”
 I have endeavoured to explore the way the creative process through art enables us to think differently about our individual and collective situation within Aotearoa, New Zealand.

1 Proto tiki  2005

2 Haka tiki  2005

3 Replica tiki  2005

4 Ilber tiki  2005

5 Gilbert tiki  2005 (see image below)

6 Better tiki  2005

7 Fern tiki  2006

8 Scrappy tiki  2006

9 Tex tiki  2006

About the artist

Jodi Tautari is a contemporary artist whose wry works utilise the iconic Gilbert rugby ball to humorous and political effect.
The works are predominantly made from the Gilbert brand ball, and are all made of hand-stitched rugby balls and given new life in the form of the traditional Hei Tiki.
Over the period of 2005-2006,Tautari has carefully tended to their creation with respect to their correct proportions.
Tautari gained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Elam and is in the process of completing her Masters in Maori Visual Art with Massey University. Tautari is currently teaching Art and Art History at Church College of New Zealand in Templeview.