August 31st, 2009

Michael Parekowhai – The Consolation of Philosophy

As part of an ongoing series of installations and to celebrate our tenth birthday, Michael has installed his Consolation of Philosophy series at Ryder. Following is a description of the works courtesy of Michael Lett Gallery

THE CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY 2001

THE CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY - Piko nei te matenga (when our heads are bowed with woe)

The titles of these works all refer to places in France and Flanders where the Pioneer Maori Battalion made a contribution in World War I. During the Great War most Maori soldiers were not conscripted into the army but ‘volunteered’ for military service. The right to take up arms and fight for God, for King and for country was regarded by many both as a sacred obligation and as an opportunity for adventure. Death on the killing fields of Western Europe was believed to be a ‘just price’ which would secure for Maori the same privileges and recognition that Pakeha already enjoyed at home. This work is also about how Maori initiatives that help to shape the course of mainstream history making have a tendency to get ‘left out’ of popular accounts of the fact. Not many people know that it was Maori skill in engineering and logistics while under prolonged bombardment and gas attack which gave the Anzac troops the nickname, ‘Digger’. However, the use of flower symbolism in this work memorialises much more than just the war exploits of our glorious dead. It is also about re-claiming a pre-Pakeha Maori appreciation of the floral as an authentic badge of masculinity. Our family name ‘Pare-kowhai’ literally means ‘Garland of yellow’ (kowhai of course) and was won for us by a great warrior, who was as much a conqueror in the field of love, as he was a conqueror in the field of war. In this work the ability to express a sensitivity to, and a respect for, ‘flowers’, is seen as a staunch affirmation of manliness made only by true sons and grandsons of ‘real’ men. Cushla Parekowhai