Wahine: Beyond the Dusky Maiden

Overview

Aotearoa runs on mana wāhine — the unique power of Māori women — which is distilled down from Papatūānuku, the earth mother.

The 'dusky maiden' is a trope that explains how indigenous women have been stereotyped since Victorian times — the female flipside of the ole 'noble savage' idea of indigenous people with innate, uncorrupted wholesomeness. A look at 19th and 20th Century depictions of Māori women saw them too often depicted as passive or fetishised.

This exhibition takes those reductive, limited and one-dimensional depictions and quashes them, bringing to light the richness and contributions of Māori women throughout Aotearoa's history and their legacy.

Many of the stories of these pivotal tīpuna wāhine have been lost, ignored or suppressed for decades, the extraordinary work of contemporary scholars, artists, writers and researchers has helped bring them to the fore. We're now able to have a closer look at these incredible wāhine, from '90s singer Mahinārangi Tocker to our first Maori female MP, Iriaka Rātana, to 1800s composer and orator Te Rangi Topeora.

You've got until 25 August to see the exhibition in the Turnbull Gallery at the National Library. There's also a brilliant program of events and talks that go along with it — see the website for the full schedule.

Image: Alexander Turnbull Library