Te Tatau Ki Kirikiriroa sculpture - VOTR

It is located at the top of the tiered garden to act as a tomokanga or gateway inviting people to negotiate the multiple pathways in their engagement with the landscaped gardens and walkways.

The gateway features significant Maaori patterns relating to horticulture, lamentation and navigating life as well as the text of a whakatauki which came from the first Maaori King, Kingi Pootatau Te Wherowhero.

Site History

Victoria on the River provides a connection from the central city to the Waikato River and the surrounding landscape. Historically this site had very fertile soil and Maaori had extensive  gardens here, cultivating kumara, rauruhe (fern root) and taro in the lower swampy areas. It was  considered the ‘Garden Basket’ for Auckland. The site now enables the public to enjoy the natural landscape and connect with the city’s popular river path network.

Robert Jahnke b. 1951 —

Ngāi Taharora / Te Whānau a Iritekura
Te Whānau a Rakairo o Ngāti Porou

Robert Jahnke is a seminal New Zealand artist of Samoan-German-Irish-Māori heritage. He is Professor of Māori Visual Arts at Massey University’s Whiti o Rehua School of Art, and a highly respected educator, researcher, historian, writer and advocate for Māori and indigenous arts nationally and internationally. Jahnke’s practice focuses on the dynamics of inter-cultural exchange and identity politics. It brings together the different disciplines of design, illustration, animation and sculpture to explore Māori creation narratives and prophetic imagery. The use of language and text are major elements in his contemporary practice, also his explorations of light, shadow, form and reflection using neon text, pattern and mirrors that create the illusion of infinity and a connection between land and sky.