Tūturu Kāenga

Tūturu Kāenga is an exhibition by father and son, George Konia and Brook Konia.  
Inspired by a road trip together along Highway 35 and wānanga at Hinerupe Marae, Te Araroa, in 2025. They each carried stories home, letting them inspire their creativity to become the artworks in this exhibition. 

E ai ki te whakatauāki “Hei a koe i te huka o te tai ki te ao parauri. Ko te ahi e kā mai rā, kaua e tineia koe. Waiho he mahi ahi mō tō kāenga.”  
The above whakatauākī (proverb) is remembered as the words spoken by tipuna, elder sister Te Aopare to younger sister Hinerupe. This whakatauākī encapsulates warmth, a welcome home, and life of the hearth—a source of identity and connection, and anchors this exhibition for the artists. 

About the artists

George Konia is a stronghold for his whānau, and well known Whangārei community member through his martial arts background and career in supermarkets and grocery merchandise across Te Tai Tokerau Northland. Ever multitalented, he continues to develop his art-making by drawing on his experiences and storytelling abilities. 
 
Brook Konia's art-making is relational, engaging with objects, materials, and lived happenings as interconnected carriers of kōrero. From his time completing his Master of Māori Visual Arts (First Class Honours) at Toioho ki Āpiti, Pūtahi a Toi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University in 2023, the tī kōuka has continued to be a core part to his practice. As the tī kōuka summons meanings of; fishing, kai, rongoā, and as an enduring symbol of occupation, it grounds his work in whakapapa. 
 
E tahutahu kau ana te waka o Horouta 
E tū ana te maunga o Whetumatarau  
E rere ana te awa o Awatere 
ki te tai o Kawakawa mai Tāwhiti  
Anei rā te marae o Hinerupe  
E tangi nei he uri o Te Whānau a Hinerupe  
Tēnei te ringa o Ngāti Porou 
Nō te whānau Konia māua 
Tēnā rā koutou katoa. 

Image courtesy of Brook Konia