Tia Ranginui
Tia Huia 'Ranginui' is an artist from Whanganui, New Zealand Aotearoa and her main artform is photography. Her work is held in public collections including at the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui.
History
Ranginui grew up along the Whanganui river at Koriniti. Ranginui is Māori affiliated to the hapū Ngāti Hine Oneone, of Whanganui iwi.Ranginui is a self-trained artist and in addition to her art practice works as a gallery assistant in Whanganui. Themes in her work include Māori representation in art and stories from her local region of Whanganui. Her works are described by art critic Robert Leonard as ranging 'from the polemical and political to the enigmatic and poetic' and have also been described as magic realism. In a review of her work in the journal Art New Zealand, Milly Mitchell-Anyon says: "Her photographs are steeped in history whilst simultaneously balancing contemporary concerns."
In 2021 Ranginui collaborated with writer Arihia Latham. Latham wrote a poetic essay in response to Ranginui's work for Photo Forum Online. Arihia Latham is writer and also Māori health practitioner of rongoā.
Public collections which include work of Ranginui include Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, The Dowse Art Museum, City Gallery, Wellington and the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, St Peter’s School Cambridge, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and the Arts House Trust.
Selected exhibitions
Ranginui's first solo exhibition was in 2015.The exhibition Tāwauwau ' includes a sequence of ''