Saffronn Te Ratana (born 1975) is a visual artist of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

( Ngāi Tuhoe) descent, born in

Palmerston North, New Zealand Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. Te Ratana went to Palmerston Intermediate Normal School, followed by Palmerston North Girls’ High School. Her work ''PW 1 (Tiki remix)'' is included in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewea collections and as part of the 2013 Auckland Triennial celebrations, her work was acquired by the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

Education

Te Ratana graduated from the Māori

Visual Arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

programme Toioho Ki Apiti at Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, School of Māori Studies, Massey University. Following graduation she has remained involved with the university including as a tutor and lecturer in Māori visual arts.

Career

Te Ratana works with

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

, often creating three-dimensional structures using material such as fabrics, cardboard, wood, and

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

. She often works collaboratively with other artists, including creating works with her partner Ngataiharuru Taepa for over ten years. Co-created pieces include ''Ka kata te po'' (with Taepa & Hemi Macgregor, shown at the Te Manawa Art Gallery in 2011 then at the 5th Auckland Triennial) and ''Tu te manu ora i te Rangi'' (2008). Considered a leading contemporary

artist, her works draw on her heritage and often comments on the suppression of tribal voices. Her work ''Ka kata te po'' (2011) is a response to the Urewera Raids of 2007. The piece ''Tu te manu ora i te Rangi'' explores Māori cosmology through legends of

Tāne In Māori mythology, Tāne (also called Tāne-mahuta, Tāne-nui-a-Rangi, and several other names) is the god of forests and of birds, and the son of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, the sky father and the earth mother, who used to lie in a tight em ...

, Rehua, Ranginui and Papatūānuku, and the Māori creation myth.

Exhibitions

While at university, Te Ratana participated in several high-profile group exhibitions including ''Purangiaho: Seeing Clearly'' (2001) at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and ''Taiāwhio: Continuity and Change'' (2002) at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Te Ratana's first solo exhibition, ''Pepeha'', was at the Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatu in 2009. She exhibited alongside fellow

artists in the exhibition ''Whakarongo'' at the Tauranga Art Gallery. In 2014, she was part of the exhibition ''Five Māori Painters'' alongside Robyn Kahukiwa, Kura Te Waru Rewiri,

Emily Karaka Emily (Emare) Karaka (born Auckland in 1952) is a New Zealand artist of Māori ( Ngāti Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngati Hine, Ngāpuhi) descent Kirker, Anne. ''New Zealand Women Artists'' Reed Methuen, 1986 Her work is recognised for "its expressive inten ...

, and Star Gossage. Te Ratana's work in this exhibition reflected her experimental style by taking a three-dimensional approach to painting. She has also exhibited at the Thermostat Art Gallery and her work was included in the touring exhibition ''E Tū Ake: Standing Strong'', with the exhibition visiting international venues including Québec,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Personal life

She currently lives and works in

Education

Career

Exhibitions

Personal life

References

Further reading