Tāwhirimātea - Carrier

Tāwhirimātea started life as an improv live performance recorded at the opening of “Tāwhirimātea’s Battle” A group exhibition of Tairāwhiti artists to commemorate “one year on from Cyclone Gabrielle”

In this piece Carrier explores the impact of Human interaction with the environment and the catastrophic consequences that this can cause as realised in the Tairāwhiti region.

The piece is made up of several elements. The wonky almost tortured oscillating synth drones represents the grief and anger of Tāwhirimātea as Rangi and Papa are separated by his sibling’s. The randomly generated bass tones represent the indiscriminate nature of a severe weather events or natural disasters. The monotonous repetition of the rimshot pays homage to the relentless nature of profit driven commercial enterprise at all costs, and its influence on regulatory body control. The drum patterns portray the ongoing struggle between Tūmatauenga (God of war and people) and Tāwhirimātea over the separation of Rangi and Papa, and the hue represents the sense of community, hope and quiet determination to overcome.