Detail – From Rangiatea
Detail of waka (canoe) in “From Rangiatea” by Sofia Minson
1010mm high x 1370mm wide
Oil on canvas
$12,500
Exhibited at Parnell Gallery http://www.parnellgallery.co.nz
“From Rangiatea” expresses universal themes of origins, journeys, dynamic life, deep stillness and a spiritual connection with the land.
The painting is named after a group of islands in the Pacific known as Rangiatea or the Society Group. Like Hawaiiki, Rangiatea is considered an ancient Maori homeland from whence the original canoes voyaged to New Zealand centuries ago. Connection to this homeland is conveyed in the proverb “He kakano ahau, ruia mai i Rangiatea”, which means “I am a seed, scattered from Rangiatea.”
In terms of narrative “From Rangiatea” is informed by the legend of Kupe, the great Polynesian navigator. Kupe is said to have visited Rangiatea and journeyed from his homeland, Hawaiiki, to become the first person to discover Aotearoa. Sofia’s interpretation of his great ocean going vessel, the Matawhaorua, is pictured in this work with an intricately carved taurapa (stern piece) and tauihu (bow piece).
The crew of the Matawhaorua encountered many obstacles on their long voyage including a battle with an enraged, monstrous Octopus. It was Kupe’s wife Hine Te Aparangi who finally sighted land naming it Aotearoa, Land of the Long White Cloud.
The solitary, ancient waka is depicted resting upon the shores of Aotearoa after its immense journey. Two pouakai eagles – a large native species with a wingspan of up to 3 metres that went extinct c.1400 A.D. – are shown flying to greet the newly arrived vessel. As Kupe and the crew of the Matawhaorua leave the waka to explore the discovered land, this painting gives the sense that although the people are gone, the spirit and memory of their great voyage remains.
Sofia Minson Oil Paintings 
Greetings and Talofa Sofia,
I really like your artworks, they remind me of the old traditional and native tribes of the Maori people…..almost like i’m looking at the bear truths of the lands being stripped physically from the people, but still have the spirits of the ancestors hovering the empty shores for their protection, so in your portrayal of this beautiful painting, its given me a great connection, giving out the feelings of pure serenity and simplicity and a quietness that you hardly see in paintings by artists of the day……it takes me back, way back to learning about the Maori histories of art and a project that connected me to my own ancestors, people of the ocean who come back to their homes to rest…….I wish you the best with your artworks to come.
Beautiful thank you for sharing this with me Donna as your words have enriched and confirmed my own purpose. Arohanui, Sofia.