The Bosom of Abraham #4
(2004)
Medium
screenprinted vinyl, metal, plastic, flourescent bulb, electrical components
Measurements
130.9 × 21.6 × 7.3 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Chris Deutscher and Karen Woodbury through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program, 2018
© courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Fusing customary Māori design with industrial materials, Michael Parekōwhai transforms mass-produced light boxes into radiant sculptural forms. Wrapped in intricate kōwhaiwhai patterns, which traditionally adorn the rafters of a Māori wharenui (communal house), the works in this series invite reflection on ancestry, memory and identity. In Christian theology, the ‘bosom of Abraham’ describes a place of rest between life and the afterlife. For Parekōwhai, it also recalls his ancestor Aperahama Tutoko, as well as a song from his youth, the spiritual standard ‘Rock My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham’. These interwoven references reflect the artist’s ongoing interest in the ways cultural knowledge is carried, remixed and illuminated.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
New Zealand
Edition
ed. 5/7
Accession Number
2018.796
Department
Contemporary Art