Nathan Pōhio, Let it be to a Lofty Mountain

Let it be to a Lofty Mountain, 2020 is a major new two-channel video artwork by Nathan Pōhio with a duration of 52.33 minutes.

Please note that due to the shift to Alert Level 2 the public mihi whakatau and opening planned for 5pm on Thursday 20 August has transformed to... Let it be to a Lofty Mountain with Kāhu. This is a free ticketed event at 6pm Thursday 20 August, and will be seated with physical distancing in place. Please allow time for contact tracing at the door.

In homage to Maukatere and 19th century cinema this work is made silent with an occasionally accompanying sound component.

Performing as Kāhu, Ōtepoti Dunedin-based musician Tristan Dingemans has conceived a response to Let it be to a Lofty Mountain. Sista AKA Sheree Waitoa of Ngāti Porou and Rongowhakaata prepares a space for Kāhu by providing the first sound on customary taonga puoro – Pūtōrino.

Hastings-born Dingemans is also a member of the bands High Dependency Unit, Mountaineater and Kāhu Rōpū, Kāhu is an exploration of sonic and emotional dynamism utilising electric guitar and voice.

Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tūohu koe, me he maunga teitei.

Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.

Nathan Pōhio of Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe and Ngāi Tahu descent is an Ōtautahi Christchurch-based artist working in video and other photographic media. He has exhibited widely in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, including documenta 14 (Athens, Greece and Kassel, Germany). He was nominated for the Walters Prize in 2015 and is a founding member of Paemanu - Ngāi Tahu Contemporary Visual Arts.

This new work explores Maukatere, the ancestral mountain of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, a hapū of Ngāi Tahu.