Project Statement:
Walking with Waipapa explores the second verse of the Waewae Taku Haere waiata written for the opening of the Massey University Wellington campus marae, Te Rau Karamu. The experience of walking above ground, tracing the lines of where the now culverted stream runs left us with a deep lasting impression.
Within the experience, the audience becomes, for 5 minutes, Waipapa herself; the light falling through the tree canopy above, listening to the many paths of travelling people above, and feeling the wind play with our surroundings. Shadow and light come together so that we can share a body; even though we cannot physically lay eyes on Waipapa she is still running within the earth mother below, ever-present in our everyday lives.
