"In 'Wai whakaika' the water drips, trickles, erupts outwards, collapses in on itself. Streams cross the screen longways and crosswise, refracting into blinding vanishing points. The three stylised female figures, with their seven heads, a row of fourteen gimlet eyes, gaze out at the viewer, while abstract and material flows cascade down the frame, or erupt upwards and outwards, bounding from wild axes of reflection.
It’s at once peaceful and never at rest. The accompanying soundscape rises and calms, overlaying birdsong with a percussive rattle and the chuckle of water flowing. Air bubbles are provoked by the churn of currents, and the downward coursing of the lines and lattices leaves the distinct impression of tukutuku panels, or the track of tears."
Wai whakaika (2022)
Other works by Jamie Berry
ĀKE, AKE, AKE (2020)
The artist's DNA is translated into a musical score using taonga puoro, layered with sounds from the whenua and bird calls.
Breaking the glass ceiling (2018)
Māori and Pasifika women who have come from the legacy of Mana Wāhine, and who have been affected by colonisation, inequalities, yet have endured.
Hiwa-i-te-rangi (2023)
A radio-inspired broadcast by DJ Moemoea takes us on a celestial journey through the nine stars of Matariki, concluding with Hiwa-i-te-rangi. A sacred female star and the youngest whetū of the Matariki cluster, Hiwa-i-te-rangi is connected to the promise of a prosperous season.
Related exhibition review
3 New Works in a Year of Protest and Pandemic
3 New Works in a Year of Protest and Pandemic
Louie Zalk-Neale, Gabriel White, and Jamie Berry showed new work on Masons Screen in Wellington's CBD while people protested against the vaccine mandates, and Aotearoa tipped in and out of lockdowns.