Ruebena Paraha

Reubena P Paraha, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu is a student at Te Wananga O Aotearoa, Heretaunga Toi, Diploma Māori and Indigenous Art Level 5.

This is Ruebena’s first exhibition, she brings her 70 years life experiences into her work and a very first together with another local artist.

Me te kupu - With the words, Whakaaro - intention

Puehu whetū - stardust, Pororaruraru - turbulence

Ngārara hupenga - insect tangle.

These are the names of some of Ruebena’s paintings in this exhibition, designed to hint at where her conversations are anchored, nestled between the lines that create the compositions.

Behaviour, preference, decision making, practices and consequence, speak about the times we are living in. In the Star Dust Series, the Ochre colours I have used connect the four different aspects of life to each other.

“We are billion year old stardust. We are golden” 

- Sang Joni Mitchell

In 2022 villages are under water from mega monsoons, fires burn for months on end, millions starve and wars rage between nations.

I use my small voice here to talk about the by-catch and th poached and trafficked. I want to say, look we have created a huge rubbish dump in the dark sky. In Detritus as we gaze skyward and marvel at the beauty of the heavens even as we remember and celebrate the rise of Matariki this year as a national holiday.

A small bright blue child’s plastic boat floats aimlessly about on the ocean floor in the Whakaaro Series representing the gyre or garbage patch (also Pacific patch vortex) which extends to at least 100 feet below the surface of the ocean. As at 2021 is estimated to cover an area of 1.6 million kilometers, roughly 3 times the size of France.

He mea nui te whiriwhiri - Choices matter.

Check out some of our other artists