Offering: Cindy Huang

19 Whiringa-ā-nuku 2024 – 1 Hui-tanguru 2025
19 October 2024 – 1 February 2025

Ka whakaata a Offering i ngā rangahau a Cindy Huang mō te hapori Hainamana Tauiwi i Te Matau-a-Māui, onamata mai, inamata mai, me te aro ki ngā māra mākete, ngā kaingaki kāri, me ngā kaihoko o te rohe. He pāpaku nō te puna mauhanga i ngā whare taonga me ngā whare pūranga o te rohe me te motu i mate ai ia ki te whakawhirinaki ki ngā kōrero a te hapori hei whakaahua i tō rātau ao, ngā koha, me ngā mahi. Ka tūhura tēnei puninga toi āna i te pāpaku o tēnei puna mātauranga, ā, ka pūrangiaho ko te kite atu, tē kitea hoki.

Hei tēnei whakaaturanga whakaaturia ai he pawapawa i hangaia e te ringa ki te maire taiki me te paura hua paka, ka mutu, he hangarewa rauwhero kiri hua hīmoe, he iho āporo hei pupuri i ngā pawapawa. I ahu mai ngā āhuatanga katoa i ngā huarākau o te Toa Huarākau o Onekawa he pakihi Haina-Aotearoa ā-whānau. Kua āta whakaritea kia whakaohongia ngā momo o ngā toma tīpuna — he hekenga nō te tikanga filial piety a Haina, hei whakamaharatanga, hei whakaute i te hunga ora me te hunga mate. I te nuinga o te wā, he huarākau hei koha, ā, ka tahua he pawapawa kia wātea te ara o mua ki muri, kia pai ai tā te tangata hono ki ōna tīpuna me ōna mahara.

Ahakoa kāore te kaitā e whakaaro he rite tāna ki te toma, engari ia he mihi tonu, he tableau vivant, he oranga ngū e ora ana, e whakaatu ana i ētahi kōrero motuhake mō te pōkaikaha me ngā pūrākau e tiakina ana e ngā hapori. E ai ki ta Huang he tangi a Offering ki ngā tāngata e maharatia ana, me ngā tāngata i warewaretia i te rerenga o te wā.

Kei Tāmaki Makaurau a Cindy Huang (I whānau mai i Rotorua, 1997) e noho ana, e mahi ana, ā, i Heretaunga ia i te 2023 ki te 2024. He Tohu Paerua kaitiaki taonga tuku iho tōna (2022), he Tohu Paetahi mō Toi Ataata (Hōnore) (2019) hoki tōna nā Waipapa Taumata Rau. Kua whakaaturia āna mahi ki Aotearoa i ngā tau ki mua, otirā, ki ētahi kaupapa takitahi, takitini pēnei i a Sumer, i a Te Atamira, i a Satellites, i a Chez Derriere, i a Studio One Toi Tū, i a Meanwhile anō hoki.

Offering reflects Cindy Huang’s research into the Tauiwi Chinese New Zealand community in Te Matau-a-Māui, both past and present, with a focus on the region's market gardens, gardeners, and grocers. Due to a notable absence of recorded accounts in local and national museums and repositories, she has primarily relied on oral histories from within the community to piece together a picture of their lives, contributions, and labours. Her installation explores the ephemeral nature of this knowledge, highlighting both presence and absence.

The installation features handcrafted incense made from sandalwood blended with dried fruit powder, along with bronze casts of citrus peels and apple cores that serve as incense holders. All of these elements are produced from fruit sourced from Onekawa Fruit Shop, a local Chinese New Zealand family business. They are carefully arranged, evoking the forms associated with ancestral shrines—a reflection of the traditional Chinese custom of filial piety, which encompasses acts of remembrance and respect for both the living and the deceased. Typically accompanied with offerings of fresh fruit, the ritual of burning incense creates a sanctified and cleansed space that bridges the past with the present, allowing one to connect with their ancestors and memories.

While the artist doesn’t consider her work as a shrine in itself, she nevertheless sees it both as an act of tribute and a tableau vivant, a living still life, gesturing towards some specific accounts of hardship and stories which remain guarded within communities. Huang considers Offering as an elegy to those who are remembered, alongside those who have been forgotten over time.

Cindy Huang (born in Rotorua in 1997) currently lives and works in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. In 2023-24 she was based in Heretaunga Hastings. She holds a Master of Heritage Conservation in Museums and Cultural Heritage (2022), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) (2019), from the University of Auckland. Her work has been exhibited across Aotearoa in recent years, with recent solo and collaborative projects presented at Sumer, Te Atamira, Satellites, Chez Derriere, Studio One Toi Tū, and Meanwhile.

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Opening Talk & Kai - Saturday 19 October 2024, 11am