-
I first encountered Wayne Youle’s work during his 2019 retrospective at Pātaka, titled 20/20: Words of Wisdom. Wayne is prolific in both the scope of his practice and the breadth of his disciplines, his work spanning sculpture, street art, painting, design and digital media.
A recurring theme in his art stems from his experience as an urbanised Māori, navigating his place in the world. During his floor talk, Wayne spoke about themes of reconnection within te ao Māori and self-emancipation. His work is an ongoing dialogue between societal assimilation and the cultural renaissance for tangata whenua and Aotearoa as a whole.
The conversations that are part of Wayne’s work, challenge us to consider our own stories. He contemplates his disconnection from his reo and understanding his own Ngāpuhi story. Wrestling with being an indigenous person navigating Western worlds, his story unfolds across a range of diverse landscapes. From affiliating with American street culture in small-town New Zealand to striving on the rugby field, and ultimately thriving within the art world, his journey embodies a blend of cultural influences shaping a multifaceted and modern identity.
When developing an exhibition ‘Te Moteatea a Maumahara’ at Wairau Māori Art Gallery in Whangārei, we exhibited artwork by Wayne Youle titled ‘I’ll be the one wearing the pink carnation, standing in the corner (sweating)’. This wry 3D work explores the idea of wanting to fit in while concealing one’s true identity. Humour and wit is a characteristic of Wayne’s work; a device he often uses to communicate layered and complex ideas.
Accompanied by David Alsop, Wayne delivered a series of educational workshops for Northland rangatahi at the Wairau Māori Art Gallery: the world’s first public art gallery dedicated to showcasing the best of contemporary Māori art.
Wayne was generous in sharing his knowledge and stories with our young creatives, broadening their horizons through artistic making and kōrero. A memorable photo was captured in front of our gallery, with our Pou ‘Te Pou Tāhuhu a Kūkupa’ serving as a backdrop for those fortunate enough to be part of the experience. As David drove the duo Northward, Wayne sketched in his workbook. These sketches were the seeds of what was to become a deeply personal body of work.
The pilgrimage made its way to ‘Te Kotahitanga Marae’, on the western outskirts of Kaikohe—a spiritual visit that had taken Wayne 20 years to make.
"I could feel the mana of my Grandmother especially," Wayne reflected. "Looking up at the steeple and over the gravestones of the nearby church felt like a chapter in my journey through Te Tai Tokerau—my whakapapa story. I felt it right into my core and deep, deep, deep into my bones." From Kaikohe, Wayne travelled to Kororāreka, where he and friends witnessed the moonlight shimmering on the indigo oceans of Paihia. Ruapekapeka Pā and the ancient tupuna Tāne Mahuta were obligatory stops along the way.A wellbeing soak in Ngāwhā’s hot healing waters brought back childhood memories: "I remember us digging a hole in the ground there, chucking in an apple crate. We’d test each spot—too cold! Too hot! We kept going until we found the perfect temperature." While soaking in Ngāwhā’s mud pools, a young local boy warned Wayne expertly: "You know you’re not supposed to put your head under, eh?” Wayne laughs “He then slipped down into the mud like a hippo, before bobbing back up, with flushed cheeks. It was so funny—just our people living their best life."
These experiences developed into a series of small works by Wayne, which went through a finely tuned process to become large, tall panels—chapters that nod to Colin McCahon’s ‘Northland Panels’. These works seen today are a reinterpretation of Wayne’s initial pieces, which were bursts of “visceral emotional responses”. Place and people are key inspirations for Wayne, who reflects that his work is not landscape art but rather; a landscape infused with his emotional connection and perspective.
The pieces can be read as chapters in a book—the book of Wayne, if you will. Reflecting on Te Tai Tokerau, Wayne recalls his Grandmother’s words: “She said that there were only two times—daytime and nighttime. I feel like these works function like that—each moment in time reflecting on the one ahead of it.”
His connection to Northland, its history and people is one that Wayne acknowledges as in his bloodline. “I know now that I need to go back soon. I can feel the call of Te Tai Tokerau.”
Artists see the world both instinctively and through disciplined practice. They hear the silent beats in the music of the world around us and watch with all their senses. Beauty can be seen in a mundane activity. Magic resides in the ordinary object. A simple ritual transforms into a universe of study, while the most natural of orders is an inspiration. Artists, like Wayne, invite us to pause, reflect, and truly pay attention to the world around us, within us and of each other.
Te toi whakairo, ka ihiihi, ka wehiwehi, ka aweawe te ao katoa.
Text by Larissa McMillan, Director, Wairau Māori Art Gallery
Click here to go back to the exhibition page.
