How A Mountain Calls, is an act of looking into a history which yearns to be engaged with.
This rope, made from the prepared fibres -or muka- of harakeke, is a reference to the very moment Messenger enters Parihaka.
Major W. B. Messenger, circa 1900, by William Francis Gordon. Purchased 1916. Te Papa (O.013394)
"But like many symptoms, our silence tells me one thing that I feel quite deeply -it makes us uncomfortable."
Bachelor of Design with Honours
5th November 1881, my great great great grandfather William Bazire Messenger was the first among the Armed Constabulary to enter the pacifist village of Parihaka. In the photobook, How A Mountain Calls, I weave my own photography with historic images alongside a letter addressed to Messenger. I draw a line to te pāhuatanga (the plunder) through crafting a rope made from harakeke as part of my reaction to Messenger’s legacy.
