Nikau Hindin (Te Rarawa/Ngāpuhi, Aotearoa New Zealand)
UNSW Galleries and White Bay Power Station
Nikau Hindin is a contemporary Māori artist deeply engaged in the renewal of the Māori aute (bark cloth) making tradition in Aotearoa New Zealand. Unlike other bark lineages across Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (The Great Ocean), the Māori bark cloth technique that Hindin employs was last practiced in Aotearoa more than a century ago when the paper mulberry tree that is the main source of bark was almost made extinct.
Including motifs from Māori culture as well as other designs, architecture, and textile traditions, Hindin also uses the bark as an instrument to express another Indigenous technological lineage, the kites or manu. Manu means both kite and bird in Māori, and while often used for recreation, they were also used for divination, communication, and as a guide to new auspicious lands to settle on.
Supported by the Biennale of Sydney and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain with generous support from Creative New Zealand.