aroha ki te tangata

“Aroha Ki Te Tangata speaks to the deep-rooted practices of whanaungatanga and manaakitanga that have sustained Māori communities over generations. It honours the courage and foresight of those who migrated to urban areas, striving to create platforms of support that would enable their descendants, like me, to flourish in the new world.” – Chevron Hassett

For The Changing Room, Tāmaki Makaurau based artist Chevron Hassett has created a sculptural installation consisting of a carved atamira (Māori platform) and a lace fretwork sited at the gallery’s doorway. Inspired by the traditional function of the atamira as a platform for sharing ideas and histories, Hassett interprets its forms to reference the rapid postwar migration of Māori communities to urban centres. The artworks merge traditional whakairo and colonial architecture, extending the artist’s ongoing exploration of urban indigeneity.

Hassett has been learning the traditional art of carving, utilising kauri and totara timber salvaged from demolished homes in Northland and Herne Bay. Fulfilling the original use of the materials, Aroha Ki Te Tangata embodies the enduring values of nurture, shelter and community growth. The floorboards of the sculpture are decorated with affirmative kupu: whakapono (faith), tūmanako (hope) and aroha (love), referencing Howard Morrison’s well-known rendition of the hymn Whakaaria Mai (How Great Thou Art), 1995.

Visitors are encouraged to engage with the atamira by sitting or lying on the platform. The atamira is intended to offer the audience a resting space, and an opportunity to reflect on their own foundations and what sacrifices their ancestors may have made for them.

Chevron Hassett is an artist whose practice engages with sculpture, photography, and public installation. His work responds to the impact of urbanisation on Māori communities, informed by his own upbringing and community, grounded in the visual and spatial language of Māori design. Working with reclaimed materials and architectural references, Hassett reconfigures forms to speak to ideas of shelter, identity, and collective memory. His installations often function as living spaces of exchange, where matauranga Māori and the urban experience intersect. Committed to community engagement, Hassett works across galleries and public spaces to reflect the relationships, histories, and futures of the people and places he is connected to. His practice centres whanaungatanga, drawing strength from shared experience and cultural continuity. Hassett holds a Bachelor of Design with Honours from Massey University and a diploma in Indigenous Art, specialising in Whakairo Māori. He has exhibited in Aotearoa and Australia, including Artspace Aotearoa, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, The Dowse Art Museum, and Artspace Sydney. In 2017 he received the CNZ Ngā Manu Pīrere Award, and in 2022 The Arts Foundation Springboard Award.

Glossary of Te Reo Māori Terms

Aroha – love

Tangata – people

Whanaungatanga – kinship, connection

Manaakitanga – generosity, hospitality

Kupu – word