Whatu
An Insight into the Māori World
Whatu: "An Insight into the Māori World" by Derek Lardelli
Posted by The Global Experience on Monday, May 4, 2015
Brief Exhibition Information
Lardelli is an internationally renowned artist whose works include the graphics used for corporate Air New Zealand's rebranding, the composition of the All Blacks rugby team haka, Ta moko (traditional Māori tattooing), sculpture, and more. During his time in South Bend, Lardelli will give a public lecture at the Snite Museum of Art. This lecture is a precursor to the exhibition opening of Lardelli's works at the Crossroads Gallery for Contemporary Art, titled “Whatu: An Insight into the Māori World.”
The word “whatu” has many meanings in translation. Literally, whatu is translated from Māori to English as "eye." More fully, whatu can be defined as an insightful “all-seeing eye,” but it can also mean “to weave or to bring together,” and, in ancient schools of learning, the “whatu” was an initiation stone fed to scholars. The title of Lardelli’s exhibition was chosen with all of these meanings in mind. With the aim of promoting knowledge and introductory experiences of Māori culture in the South Bend area, these events fall under the NDCAC Global Experience series, “The Indigenous World,” which promotes, through various community and campus entities, the sharing of knowledge and generation of events surrounding indigenous cultures.
Definition of "Whatu" as given by the artist and the Te Aka Online Māori Dictionary.
Whatu April 12 Press Release, 278KB
Derek Lardelli Biography, 263KB
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