Melanie Roger Gallery will return to the Aotearoa Art Fair 30 April - 3 May 2026 when we will host two separate presentations throughout The Fair.

For the first two days we are honoured to present a solo exhibition of new work by Rangi Kipa – both his carved taonga and a new suite of photographic works.  

Rangi Kipa (Te Atiawa, Taranaki Iwi, Ngati Mutunga, Ngati Tama ) is a contemporary Māori artist, master carver and arts leader from Aotearoa New Zealand. His work is grounded in whakapapa, tikanga, and the traditions of whakairo and explores relationships between ancestral knowledge, contemporary identity, and the ongoing vitality of Māori material culture.

The carved works of Rangi Kipa made from whale bone and teeth occupy a distinctive place within his wider practice, which moves fluidly between customary Māori carving traditions and contemporary art contexts. Through these materials, Kipa engages directly with taonga species such as the Sperm Whale and other whales whose bones and teeth have long held the supreme cultural significance in Māori material culture and across the Blue Nation/Pacific. Historically, whale remains that washed ashore were highly valued and carefully transformed into tools, ornaments, and ceremonial objects. Kipa continues this lineage, working with the dense, luminous surfaces of bone and tooth to create carvings that acknowledge both ancestral practice and contemporary identity.

The physical qualities of whale bone and teeth shape the character of Kipa’s work. Whale bone, with its tone and subtle porous structure, allows for deep carving and strong sculptural form. Whale teeth, by contrast, are compact and smooth with changes in colour and character between the enamel and dentine, they lending themselves to holding highly detailed surface carving. Kipa responds to these differences through a careful balance of bold shaping and intricate patterning. His works often reveal finely incised kōwhaiwhai-like rhythms, flowing lines, and stylised forms that recall figures, guardians, or abstracted ancestral presences. Through these marks, the material is transformed and the intricate patterns etched within are the carrier of narrative and genealogy recalling the patterns of people’s lives in this land.

Kipa’s approach also reflects his training and experience as a master carver. The discipline of traditional whakairo informs the precision of his cutting and the structural clarity of his forms. Yet his works do not simply replicate historical styles. Instead, he adapts traditional visual language to new contexts, allowing forms to stretch, compress, or become more abstract. The resulting objects move between familiarity and innovation: they echo the shape and scale of traditional adornments while asserting a distinctly contemporary aesthetic.

Displayed within gallery settings, Kipa’s carved whale bone and teeth works invite close viewing. Their smooth surfaces catch and reflect light, revealing the depth of carved lines and the natural variations within the material. This intimacy encourages viewers to consider the object’s journey—from ocean to shore, from raw bone to carved form, ancestral practice to contemporary exhibition space and from keepsake to talisman.

Through these works, Kipa demonstrates how traditional materials can remain vital within contemporary Māori art. His carvings honour the cultural significance of whale bone and teeth while exploring new artistic possibilities, creating taonga that carry both the weight of history and the presence of the present.

In Kipa’s new photographic series presented for the first time at Aotearoa Art Fair with Melanie Roger Gallery, Kipa’s carved taonga are situated within photographic depictions of Taranaki – Kipa’s ancestral whenua.  In doing so, these works demonstrate how photography can operate within contemporary Māori art not merely as representation but as a cultural process - one that records, reflects, and reconnects viewers with the layered relationships between people, land, taonga, and the cosmos.  

In 2025, a photographic work of  Kipa’s featured in the exhibition Kanapa ki Runga – Kanapa ki Raro at Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery. The exhibition brought together fourteen artists whose works responded to the poetic theme suggested by the title, which translates roughly as “the stars above, the shimmering waters below.” This phrase evokes a dialogue between celestial and earthly realms and reflects the seasonal and cultural significance of Puanga, a time associated with reflection, remembrance, and the renewal of knowledge.

Within this context, Kipa’s work in the exhibition can be understood as part of a broader exploration of Māori relationships to time, ancestry, place and things that early social anthropologists who studied indigenous communities described as ‘magic’. Kipa looks at this term as a way to describe the way in which native peoples accept the wonder and intersectionality of the various ways of how we make sense of things like data, time, place, the natural world, metaphysical phenomenon etc. The exhibition encouraged artists to reflect on personal histories, aspirations, and collective memory, positioning their works between past and future while remaining grounded in the present. Through photography, Kipa contributes to this conversation by using the camera as a tool to capture not only physical subjects but also layers of cultural meaning embedded within them.

Central to Kipa’s photographic work is the depiction of a taonga - an object of cultural, ancestral and personal significance. The taonga, carefully framed within the photograph, functions not merely as a subject but as a bearer of whakapapa. Its form, surface, and material presence reveal traces of the life journey of the hands that shaped it and the histories it carries. By isolating the taonga within the photographic frame, Kipa draws attention to the composition of the item, the intricate details that presents it own personality and the discreet linguistic symbolism embedded in its design. The image invites viewers to slow down and engage with the object as more than an artefact; it is a living conduit between generations.

Kipa is widely recognised for his work across multiple media, including carving, sculpture, and contemporary forms of Māori art. His understanding of traditional carving practices informs the way he approaches his new photographic series. In these works, the camera acts almost as a continuation of the carving process: rather than shaping wood or bone, light and perspective reveal the taonga’s presence. The photograph emphasises texture, shadow, and the subtle interplay between material and light, allowing the object’s mana to emerge within the stillness of the image and is an invitation to bear witness to rawa that may go from maker to recipient without any other opportunity for public viewing.

To register interest in works, please email the gallery: info@melanierogergallery.com

For further information about the Aotearoa Art Fair and to purchase tickets: https://artfair.co.nz/2026-tickets/