"Tohorā"

is an interactive, multi-sensorial sculptural installation situated within Te Uruhi/Maclean Park on the Kāpiti Coast.

 

Consultation with local iwi and further research into the area provided many rich narratives to base a sculptural work on. However, continued linkages to the central idea of "movement" and "journey" continued to appear throughout a multitude of narratives. And so, the work is based on the customary pattern aramoana - a zig-zag motif commonly used across raranga, tukutuku, whakairo and kowhaiwhai. The pattern's name "aramoana" translates to "ocean path" and denotes traveling, journey and migration as well as the ocean and waves.

 

"Tohorā" is a common term used for whales and makes reference to the adjacent channel between the mainland and Kāpiti Island, Te Rauoterangi and it's use as a migration path by whales and other sea life.

 

The work is a low lying concrete structure that is 9 meters in length, that forms a physical pathway within the immediate space it sits. The intent is for the public to walk across the pathway to engage with the work. On reaching the halfway point, a motion detector triggers and rewards the walker with sound recordings of whales and other ocean life. At night, the path is lit with LED lighting embedded within the work.

 

"Tohorā" was unveiled by Te Ātiawa and Ngāti Toa elders  and Kapiti Council in 2020.