Recently, New Zealand photographer, Kiri Riwai-Couch opened her solo exhibition at Arotoi – Wairarapa Museum of Art and History in Masterton featuring 60 portraits of Kuia (Māori word meaning matriarch).
Riwai-Couch first picked up a camera at the age of sixteen to complete a project for her young women’s group in the Latter-day Saint congregation she attended.
“That project,” she said, “sparked an interest and love of capturing important people and moments in my life with my camera.”
“Years later after becoming a mother, I began to realise from first-hand experience the many facets of womanhood. I gained a deeper appreciation and respect for my own mum and grandmother,” shared Kiri.
She added, “I began to appreciate the role women held at the marae, the kuia were leading, singing, crying, caring and supporting families. I noticed that their spiritual lives were full and devoted – never missing an opportunity to serve the Lord.”
“One day,” says Kiri, “I saw about seven kuia all sitting in a row at church. They were listening, laughing and watching what was going on around them – nothing escaped their attention. At that moment it struck me that I needed to record the images of these amazing women.”
From that moment of realization, it took somewhere between two to three years to open the first exhibition in 2014 which showcased 30 of Kiri’s portraits.
In 2015 she added another 30 kuia to the portrait collection and published a book which also contained brief biographies of each subject.
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“Each of the 60 kuia in the exhibition have all influenced me at some stage of my life,” said Kiri.
“Some have passed away since I took their portraits, but they will always have a profound influence in my life. They are not just photos on the wall—they are my mentors, my friends and my biggest supporters.”
“My mum says that we are guests of the local iwi Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne, but they have welcomed us completely and made us feel like one of their own,” said Kiri.
“This project is my tribute to the kuia and to the Wairarapa. I have been blessed to learn about the lives of all these women, but the most amazing thing to come from this project was having my nine-year old daughter say to me, “I love your book so much mum, it’s amazing.”
”And that”, says Kiri, “is what this is really all about.”
Mormons believe that strong families are the basic unit of society and heaven, and that family relationships can extend beyond the grave.