The collective from Aotearoa (New Zealand) won the prize for its large-scale installation Takapau, which formed part of the exhibition at the Biennale di Venezia curated by Adriano Pedrosa and called Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere. The display marked the start of the main show on the grounds of the Arsenale.
The four Wahine-Māori artists Erena Arapere-Baker, Sarah Hudson, Bridget Reweti, and Terri Te Tau are renowned for complex installations in which they combine traditional Māori art practices with contemporary materials and in this way transfer the tradition into the future.
Prior to participating in Venice and in the 23rd Sydney Biennale in 2022, Mataaho Collective was represented at documenta 14 (2017). Their piece, entitled Kiko Moana, went on view in Hessisches Landesmuseum in Kassel and was based on mana wāhine, an empowerment concept among Māori women.
The International Jury in Venice, consisting of jury chair Julia Bryan-Wilson (USA), Alia Swastika (Indonesia), Chika Okeke-Agulu (Nigeria), Elena Crippa (Italy), and María Inés Rodríguez (France/Columbia) wrote in praise that: “The Māori Mataaho Collective has created a luminous woven structure of straps that poetically crisscross the gallery space. Referring to matrilinear traditions of textiles with its womb-like cradle, the installation is both a cosmology and a shelter. Its impressive scale is a feat of engineering that was only made possible by the collective strength and creativity of the group. The dazzling pattern of shadows cast on the walls and floor harks back to ancestral techniques and gestures to future uses of such techniques.”