TE AWAHOU COLLECTIVE

© Wakatipu series: Albert McCarthy

Te Awahou Collective

Narrative: Welcome to Kotahi tonu te wairua o ngā mea katoa. This exhibition explores the seen and unseen ways we are connected, and the profound power held in the spaces between us- Vā and Mauri.
Each piece in this exhibition reflects a unique perspective on the ways we are woven together. The exhibition invites you to step out of the analytical mind and release the need to "make sense" of the work. Instead, allow yourself to simply be present and notice what arises within your awareness.
As you move through this space, you will encounter works that invite you to reflect on what is alive within you right now. How does this aliveness connect you to the taiao, to the people around you, and to your inner self? Notice what emerges from stillness.
Through this invitation for somatic exploration, we hope you leave this space with a renewed sense of energetic, physical, and spiritual connectedness. May you carry with you a felt sense of unity, an awareness of what emerges in the stillness of mind and body, and the healing power of the mauri we all share. Mauri ora

Albert McCarthy

(Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, European, Polynesian). Te Awahou Collective creator Background story and text to come.

Wouna le Roux

Wouna was born in South Africa and relocated to New Zealand in 2010. As a migrant, she navigates the space between and across cultures, languages, and places. This duality is explored in her work, creating a dialogue between past and present, and capturing the integration of old and new roots in an evolving identity. As an ode to those who came before her – mother, grandmother – she works predominantly with textiles, creating work that is often 3D/sculptural by nature. Second hand or discarded clothes and found fabrics take priority as she aims for sustainability in her practice. By repurposing and reworking these textiles into artworks, they are transformed, ‘reborn’ and given a new lease of life. She is currently based at Square Edge Community Arts.

To come Artist Statement

Sherilyn Bury Vilela

Multimedia Artist Diploma of Art and Creativity, The Learning Connexion.

Sherilyn enjoys creating works from all manner of materials to accomplish her visions. Often relating to the environment and our place within it; her artworks feature bright and bold colour, various textures sometimes utilising fabrics from her work in the fashion industry and always embodied with her quirky sense of humour. Her pieces in this latest collaboration with the Arts Collective focus on Life, Love and Temptation.

Phillip Andrews

(Ngāti Whakaue, Te Arawa) AI verse Analog: Traditional verse Digital - the rise of the digital twin and robotic conflict. A satirical play on the future.  Collection of the artist.

Phillip holds a Masters degree in Visual Communicatons and a background in commercial design and illustration

Digital Twins | Te Awahou gallery

Tracy Underwood

(Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tüwharetoa) Waiterangi 2025. Harakeke, Teri dyes, wood. Collection of the artist. Waiterangi signifies water from the heavens. One might think of this heavenly water as rain. A deeper insight suggests this 'wai' is metaphysical in nature and its function is to cleanse and purify. Its source is from the heavenly realm of Te-toi-o-ngā-rangi.

Steve Leurink

Steve Leurink is a multimedia visual artist whose creative identity has evolved through a lifetime of working across multiple creative practices. Drawing on this diverse experience, his work embraces experimentation, evolving concepts and the layering of multiple images to create visual storytelling. Leurink is particularly interested in working within what he describes as the “curious zone” — the space between the obvious and the confusing. Familiar imagery is disrupted, repositioned and brought into unexpected relationships, encouraging the viewer to look beyond the immediate image and reconsider its meaning. Through this process, his work remains exploratory and open-ended, allowing ideas to evolve through the act of making.

Huhenia Paurini

(Ngati Raukawa kite Tonga, Ngati Tūwharetoa, Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki me Ngapuhi). Ko te pii (The origin) 2025. Coloured inks on paper. Collection of the artist. These works are a series of complex, symbolic expressions of the oneness of life. Whakapapa, whenua and wairua connect all life to each other, and back to primal origins. I am drawn to nature with its intricate patterns, swirling lines, and organic shapes. Repeating motifs in my work, mirror Maori kowhaiwhai, reinforcing cultural storytelling, grounded in toi Maori. Creating art allows me to express more of who I am. Finally, I am beginning to understand the mastery within. Life moves in a circle and all creation is related, offering a universal truth.

Anselm Perkins

(Ngāpuhi – Matai Aranui Marae, Hokianga, Wikaira Whānau by birth; Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Rangitāne o Manawatū and Muaūpoko – Motuiti Marae, Foxton, Renata Hemara Devonshire Perkins Whānau by adoption) I have been carving wood, bone, stone and shell for over 35 years. I also hold a Level 6 Diploma in Art and Creativity (majoring in Portraiture) and work in acrylic on canvas. I am the founder of Learn to Carve Academy and am just beginning this journey — anyone wanting to learn is welcome to join my community on Skool.com. I have created works in Australia, Switzerland, Japan, Mexico, England, and recently a commissioned carving now in Germany. I approach every piece with karakia so that each taonga carries its own mauri. Carving and drawing are both my passion and a form of meditation — each work becomes an extension of myself.

Walter Kupa

(Te Ati Haunui-a-Paparangi) Ngā Puna Atua 2025. Digital moving image. Collection of the artist. My work is hand-coded and includes specific scientific data, built of things that happen under the crust of the whenua, in the currents of our water, and at a microscopic level. The sound you are hearing is the Tasman Sea breaking on a beach. My visual display of this data makes the unseen seen. Dr. Huirangi Waikerepuru CNZM (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Ruanui, 1929-2020), posited that combining bodies of knowledge can lead to a spiritual and physical connection to the Natural World. Ngā Puna Atua connects diverse knowledge, from Western science and matauranga Maori, inviting us to think about how we commune with our atua Māori.

David Pearce

Text and description to come

Warwick Smith

Photographer/Videographer: All video artist interviews created by Warwick Smith for the Te Awahou Collective exhibitions.

Karla Karitiana

(Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne)
Manawa mō āke tonu atu
Holding a Bachelor of Applied Visual Imaging, I have worked as a professional photographer for over a decade. Manawa mō āke tonu atu marks a nervous return to painting after ten years—a process that has challenged me to step into new medium's and rediscover storytelling through a fresh artistic lens.

Mihoko Tsumakura

Photographer, NZIPP award winner and digital artist employing an orchestrated mix of camera shot imagery, Japanese aesthetic and compositing.

Carolyn Stephens

Multidisciplinary Artist.
Dip. Art & Creativity (Hons).
Returing: "After study and practice across a multitude of mediums and techniques, Carolyn has developed a practice rooted in curiosity, transformation and a deep appreciation for the beauty of imperfection. Since opening her practice to the public through Open Artist Studios, solo and selected group exhibitions in galleries throughout New Zealand, her works now feature in private collections in Australia, Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom and New Zealand".

Leala Falesuga

Text and description to come

Christel

Text and description to come

Marie Larkin

Text and description to come

Tadhgh Eves

Text and description to come

Bruce Falloon

Photographer I'm a self taught photographer with over 40 years experience. More recently approximately 10years as a photo journalist for Horowhenua Chronicle & Horowhenua Star. My last article was about the Katipo Spider.

Artist Statement located at exhibition

John Bradley

Text and description to come

Te Awahou collective Artists

Kotahi Tonu Wairua o Nga Mea Katoa | 2026 October 31 to February 2027 - Exhibition Working together in one Spirit.