Context (Display)
'Exhibited: on display in the Encounters (1&2) case, Maudslay Hall, from 2012 onwards.

Gallery label text: "This perspex carving, created by Maori artist George Nuku, is called Te Ao Marama - Enlightenment. Nuku's work has been acquired by museums across Europe. As in many of his pieces, this work shapes a dialogue between the past, present and future. Here the contemporary sculpture is physically supporting the past, allowing old museum pieces to be seen in a new context. Te Ao Marama was inspired by the Maori version of Polynesian creation history. Ranginui, the Sky Father and Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother were locked in a close embrace with their children crushed between them. The children lived in a world of darkness and ignorance until one day they decided to act. Tane rested his shoulders on the earth and pushed his legs upwards, forcing his parents apart and letting light and knowledge into the world. Nuku's sculpture shows Tane separating the earth and the sky, witnessed by six other figures - his younger siblings"
Event Date 11/9/2012
Author: maa

Description (CMS Description)
Perspex sculpture by George Nuku commissioned by the MAA. The sculpture is named "Te Ao Marama" or "Enlightenment".

The piece supports a Raratongan fan (Z 6102) and a Tahitian taumi (gorget D 1914.10) selected by Nuku from the Museum's Pacific collection and represents Tane letting knowledge and light into the world by pushing apart his parents Ranginui, the Sky Father and Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother.

A row of white LED light runs underneath the base and lights the sculpture
Event Date 11/9/2012
Author: maa

Context (Amendments / updates)
Made in London and finished in the MAA workshop
Event Date 9/9/2019
Author: rachel hand

Context (References)
Photographed as part of the Art UK Sculpture project, August - September 2019. The project aims to create a free-to-access online photographic showcase of publicly owned sculpture. The three-year project focuses on sculpture dating from the last 1,000 years, held in public collections and outdoor locations across the UK



Event Date 4/6/2020
Author: rachel hand