Water is a constant. It provides sustenance, heals, uplifts, transports, and transforms. No matter where in the world you may be, it is likely the water you look at, consume and employ is the same water seen, felt and tasted by others on the opposite side of the globe.
This shared experience is at the heart of My River Goes With Me, a collaboration between Johnson Witehira (Ngāpuhi, Tamahaki) and Julie Nagam (Métis, German, Syrian). Together they have created an immersive experience that highlights the life-giving qualities of water as a metaphor and a unifying element to bridge geographical distance and cultural tradition.
Featuring imagery from both artists’ tūrangawaewae (standing place), this exhibition draws on their combined visual languages, imagining a space where time and place converge. The installation explores representations of the flora and fauna of Witehira and Nagam’s geographic regions alongside the unique iconography of their respective whakapapa (lineages).
Their rivers play an important role in this work, which is depicted as a kōwhaiwhai watercourse moving around the gallery space. Witehira draws on the deep connection he shares with the Whanganui River, the first river in the world to be recognised as an indivisible and living being.