Tia Ranginui
New Zealand photographer
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History
Ranginui grew up along the Whanganui river at Koriniti.[2] Ranginui is Māori affiliated to the hapū Ngāti Hine Oneone, of Whanganui iwi.[1]
Ranginui is a self-trained artist and in addition to her art practice works as a gallery assistant in Whanganui.[3] Themes in her work include Māori representation in art and stories from her local region of Whanganui.[4] Her works are described by art critic Robert Leonard as ranging 'from the polemical and political to the enigmatic and poetic' and have also been described as magic realism.[5][6] In a review of her work in the journal Art New Zealand, Milly Mitchell-Anyon says: "Her photographs are steeped in history whilst simultaneously balancing contemporary concerns."[7]
In 2021 Ranginui collaborated with writer Arihia Latham. Latham wrote a poetic essay in response to Ranginui's work for Photo Forum Online.[4] Arihia Latham (Kai Tahu) is writer and also Māori health practitioner of rongoā.[4]
Public collections which include work of Ranginui include Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, The Dowse Art Museum, City Gallery, Wellington and the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, St Peter’s School Cambridge, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and the Arts House Trust.[1][8]
Selected exhibitions
Ranginui's first solo exhibition was in 2015.[9]
The exhibition Tāwauwau (Away) includes a sequence of 'patupaiarehe' photographs. These are creatures of Māori folklore with 'red hair and fair complexions' and Ranginui has them placed in contemporary suburbs of Whanganui.[10]
Solo
- entitled film stills, Space Studio & Gallery, Whanganui (16 February - 1 March 2019)
- Tua o Tāwauwau, Contemporary Art Space, New Plymouth (31 October - 5 December 2020)
- Gonville Gothic, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington, (14 August - 31 October 2021)
- Tia Ranginui, Laree Payne Gallery, Hamilton (2021)
- Tua o Tāwauwau, The Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui (28 May – 21 August 2022)
- Gonville Gothic, Te Uru, Auckland, (10 September - 26 February 2023)
- Ahi Teretere, Te Wahre o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery (2024-2025) [11]
Group
- Te Hau Whakatonu: A Series of Never-Ending Beginnings, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth (2024)[9]
- Slow Burn: Women and Photography | Ahi Tāmau: Māreikura Whakaahua, 1 March 2026 - 31 January 2027, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington.[12]