Ka Mau, Ka Ora

Ka Mau, Ka Ora, 2026 Laser-cut stainless steel and corten steel 2400 x 3000 x 3304mm Ka Mau, Ka Ora invites viewers to step inside an architectural expression of raranga (weaving). Its four structures suggest the form of a whare, creating a passageway to walk through. Moving beneath and between the patterned panels, viewers become part of the work. The sculpture honours Hineteiwaiwa, guardian of Te Whare Pora (the house of weaving) and atua of childbirth and the creative realms of wāhine Māori. Larkin approaches Te Whare Pora as a state of being as well as a physical space, drawing on ancestral raranga and tāniko patterns that carry knowledge. Honouring her whakapapa is central to her practice, in which personal and collective stories find expression through contemporary forms. The repeated structures evoke Aramoana, a pathway to the sea or a body of water, while forms referencing kaokao offer a sense of protection. Curving lower sections recall strands of harakeke being prepared for weaving, umbilical cords and the contours of the female body. These references connect weaving with childbirth and the continuation of life. Reflective stainless steel offers fragmented, shifting glimpses of the viewer, contrasting with the weight and evolving surface of corten steel. For Larkin, the corten acts as a punga, an anchor, balancing the reflective lightness of stainless steel. Openings draw the gaze towards Ranginui, the sky, while sunlight casts patterns across the body and Papatūānuku, the ground. The work brings weaving into a bodily experience, inviting viewers to feel its wairua and aroha through their own movement.