As The Art of Hamilton Gardens completes its place in the gallery, interest remains high with ongoing sales. This includes the luscious green watercolour composition from gallery artist, Rebecca Dowman-Ngapo. The sale is accompanied by the artist's following narrative.

Nā te Rangi te Mātauranga, nā te Whenua te Hauhake

From the sky comes knowledge, from the land comes harvest

This painting reflects the deep relationship between celestial knowledge and cultivation in te ao Māori. Guided by the maramataka (the Māori lunar calendar), planting and harvesting follow the rhythms of the moon and stars.

Focusing on heritage kūmara in Te Parapara garden, the work acknowledges traditional storage (rua tahūhu) and growing methods and the role of ancestors of Ngāti Wairere, the original people of Kirikiriroa.

“Mātauranga Rangi, Hauhake Whenua” honours this continuum of knowledge - where sky, land, and people remain in relationship, and where sustenance is both physical and ancestral.

Rebecca Dowman-Ngapo