Visionaries creating joyful journey

Hurricane Ian regains strength as it heads to South Carolina

Inmany ways, joy isn’t something we always actively experience in our arts. When we enter a gallery, there’s often an austerity. The experience is tinged with a sombre, stern tone – as if the only way to reach introspection is through a deeply individualised silence. But what if the way to introspection was bathed in colour? What if, on our journey to introspection, we found ourselves in splendid company, singing, dancing and flourishing along the road to ... joy?

Wharenui Harikoa is a project by wife and husband duo Lissy Robinson-Cole (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu) and Rudi (Ngaruahine, Te Arawa, Ngāti Pāoa, Waikato ki Tai) Robinson. The pair are a force of joy – they weave their skills together to create intricately carved and adorned works of art. Rudi, a carver and Lissy, the crochet queen, have been collaborating for a number of years and their latest project at the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt is a culmination of all their efforts.

The central kaupapa to Wharenui Harikoa is ‘‘Ko WharenuiHarikoa he poro whakahakoko, ko Uenuku tawhana ki te Rangi (Wharenui Harikoa is a refracting prism of Tūpuna inspired light that shines across the sky like a rainbow)’’. It is captured in the mammoth body of work, currently showing until February.

The whare itself is a collaboration of carved pou and crochet coloured adornments suspended upon a black steel frame. The shapes are carved by Rudi and the adornments masterfully woven by Lissy. The room is painted black, the carpeting soft and dark – and all of this lends itself beautifully to the revelation of coloured wool used to depict the design elements. It’s a celebration of life, an explosion of colour and the sheer magnitude of what they’reworking to achieve here is unprecedented. As they put it, theirwork is a reflection of the light our ancestors shine though us, they are simply providing the prism by which this light is shared to the world.

The pair have had many collaborators on their journey to creating the works, including renowned legends such as Linda Munn (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti

tiawa, Ngāi Tahu), Nigel Borrell (Pirirākau, Ngāiterangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Te Whakatōhea), Maungarongo Ron Te Kawa (Ngāti Porou), Manutahi Gray (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu), Ben Rikiti (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāi Tūhoe), Rewi McClay (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu) and Hollie Tawhiao (Ngāti Tiipa).

Their influence in the design of some of the pou is evident, but the works themselves are like nothing you’ve ever seen. Our whetū o Matariki are all given space to shine, as they’re embodied by brilliant colours and fine details. However, arguably the most important relationship the pair have had throughout the journey to create this whare is the connections they each have with their own whakapapa.

The presence of their ancestors, the use of Mātauranga Māori and the weaving together of their whānau and friends throughout its design and construction are amarvellous representation of reclamation. It’s also

evident in the many hands that have contributed to theworks’ production – from nephews who support with carving, whānau who support the implementation of tikanga, to the logistics provided by Rio Movers (owned and operated by Lissy’s niece), whose massive task is to transport such an elaborate body ofwork from city to city.

The whare is intended to travel, as this first iteration is a partial viewing before its completion in 2023. The vision continues to evolve, with the pair continuing to provide opportunities for others to learn the art form through workshops and artists talks – one is happening today at the Dowse at 1pm. There is also aworkshop on Monday at the Maoriland Hub in taki that is sure to be an enjoyable, immersive learning experience.

And for those looking to explore their own joy within the art of crochet, the pair have created a fundraiser for the continued creation of the works. They’ve created their own line of high-end wool, with unique colours named for the very mauri they work so hard to imbue in their works. The ‘‘Buy a Ball’’ fundraising campaign continues to provide much needed financial assistance to the production of the whare.

During our conversation, I learnt a lot about the intentionality of this type of mahi. These are not artists trying to tell a story – these are visionaries¯Ocreating a journey. And, despite all the challenges facing our whakapapa, our people, our whānau, this whare is sure to be a safe space through which we can experience not just masterful art, but the true magic of joy. And that’s something we could all do with a little bit more of. Wharenui harikoa ki te ao!

One day after Hurricane Ian unleashed its fury across Florida, the destruction and the devastation started to become clear.

US President Joe Biden issued a formal disaster declaration and warned of ‘‘substantial loss of life’’.

Officials warned that Ian would be a problem for much of South Carolina after it regained hurricane-level strength.

And in Deltona, Florida, came the first confirmed fatality: a 72-year-old man who died while attempting to drain his pool into a nine-metre-wide canal, when he slipped down the hill, fell into the water and drowned.

While the death toll from Hurricane Ian won’t be known for some time, Biden warned that ‘‘this could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history’’.

‘‘We know many families are hurting,’’ he said during a Federal Emergency Management Agency briefing after formally issuing a disaster declaration. ‘‘Our entire country hurts with them.’’

With much of Florida situated on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida, the socalled sunbelt state is no stranger to hurricanes and tropical storms.

But Ian, which at one point was a Category 4 hurricane, was catastrophic, unleashing winds of 241kph when it made landfall on Wednesday (US time) and creating what Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described yesterday as a ‘‘500-year flood event’’.

‘‘We’ve never seen a flood event like this,’’ DeSantis said. ‘‘We’ve never seen a storm surge of this magnitude.’’

By yesterday, more than 500 people had been rescued from floodwaters in southwest Florida, but emergency crews were still struggling to reach some of the hardest-hit areas.

As first responders assessed the damage, more than 2.5 million people were still without power, roads had turned into rivers filled with upturned cars, and large sections of the Sanibel Causeway, which connects the Sanibel Islands to the mainland, collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico.

In Fort Myers, where storm surges of up to 3.6 metres pummelled the popular beachside destination, homes had been completely uprooted and strewn into the Gulf Coast, creating a swamp of debris and disaster.

‘‘I got an aerial tour of Fort Myers beach,’’ Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat and former emergency management director said on Twitter. ‘‘Most of it will need to be completely rebuilt.’’

In the Orlando area, Orange County firefighters used boats to reach people in a flooded neighbourhood. A photo the department posted on Twitter showed one firefighter carrying someone in his arms through knee-deep water. At an area nursing home, patients were carried on stretchers across floodwaters to a waiting bus.

And in Port Charlotte, where a hospital was flooded when ferocious winds tore apart the roof of its intensive care unit, patients were being evacuated throughout the day while staff members attempted to mop up the mess.

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s department confirmed multiple deaths but did not have a firm figure.

Authorities in Sarasota County were investigating two possible storm-related deaths, a sheriff’s spokesperson said.