The Christ Church Cathedral has been lit up to mark the Māori new year with its façade used as an impressive backdrop to Hurihanga, a powerful light display telling stories of renewal and remembrance.
Alongside Matariki, the display celebrates the star Puanga, or Puaka, as the main marker for Māori in Te Waipounamu.
Last night, Christchurch people rugged up and watched in awe as the display was shown for the first time.
“It was lovely, it made me tear up a little bit at points,” said one woman reflecting on the first viewing. Another person said the forest scenes brought “a bit of nature into the city”.
Starry-eyed audience watches stories of renewal and remembrance played out on the Canterbury landmark. (Source: 1News)
Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement board member Mark Stewart said it put the community back into the square.
“I thought it was really evocative and powerful,” he said.
“It is really a powerful imagery and a wonderful thing for being in the centre of the square again.”
Ati Vili said he felt at peace watching the display. “It was an absolutely stunning piece of art that’s using technology to portray Matariki.”
He added: “You can’t help but just feel a wee bit like, ‘oh, goosebumps’, throughout the actual production.”
Created by the Offline Collective’s Sam Emerson (Ngāi Tahu) in collaboration with Michael Duggan and Charlie Pitts, the project took three months to complete and was funded by over 50 donors through a crowdfunding initiative.
Emerson said it was “unreal” to see his work on one of the most famous buildings in the country.
He said the display was inspired by the story of Matariki but they wanted to push the story of Puaka and tell of the significance of both stars.
The Cathedral’s Dean, Ben Truman, introduced the display to the crowd, saying in recognising Matariki the event is a celebration of “whakapapa and whakapono”.
He told 1News the church was “absolutely delighted” to host the light display. He said it allowed for the cathedral to keep “doing its purpose” being “the centre point for the community and a place of the arts, culture and heritage”.
The display is 10 minutes long but will play out in a loop over four hours every night from 6pm for a month during Matariki.
