Ngāi Tūhoe
Tamakaimoana, Ngāti Raka, Ngāti Haka Patuheuheu

Aimee Ratana

I am fortunate to come from a family of artists and art educators, navigating this space before me, and continuing the whakapapa ringatoi within our whānau. 

My works are about reclamation and relearning through experience, establishing and growing connections through collective practices. Identity and my Tūhoe whakapapa has been the central theme investigated throughout my work. Taku Tūhoetana, a photographic installation at the Whakatāne Museum and Gallery in 2008, incorporated archival images form the collection, with images of our Whenua, reconnecting to whānau, hapu and iwi. Conversations about heritage and place, continued in my works for solo exhibitions,  Songs for Matariki, Fresh Gallery, Otara 2012, Te Mana Motuhake, Objectspace, Auckalnd 2013, and the commissioned work for Te Wharehou o Tūhoe, Te Kura Whare, Taneātua which opened in 2014. The use imagery and symbolism to connect with our narratives, providing another voice, and accessibility for future generations.

My recent exhibitions include Autonomous Bodies, New Zealand Portrait Gallery 2021, Wellington.  He toi whakaaro, He mana tangata – Waiheke Art Gallery, Waiheke Island 2021. Finalist Molly Morpeth Art Award, Whakatāne Gallery 2020, and Toi Tu Toi Ora, Auckland City Art Gallery 2020.