The Separation of Ranginui and Papatuanuku

Separation of Rangi and Papa - the Maori Creation Story

I had been thinking about creating the story of the Separation of Ranginui (the Sky God) and Papatuanuku (the Earth Mother) for some time. When I created the coffee foil substrate at the top of this picture, originally intended for another project, it seemed it was perfect for the sky part of this.

Rangi and Papa had lain in each other’s embrace together for eons. Their children were confined in the limited space between them. Tane decided to separate his parents. As he strained to separate his parents and replace the darkness with light, Tawhiri, the god of wind and storms rushed into the heavens to remain with his father.

When Tane (God of the Forest) saw his mother lying naked on the ground he covered her with forests. This is often referred to as the Maori creation story.

In my piece, the sky area is made from foil coffee packets under organza with textured strips of left over sequin waste sandwiched in between. The middle section is a scrap of black fabric that was discharge treated and then thermofaxed over to get the white imprint as the light was introduced. Papatuanuku’s area is teabags again, with Tane’s hair being created from dyed cheesecloth. A synopsis of the Maori legend is printed at the base. The whole is covered in net and free machine stitched using different motifs for each section of the piece.

Tane’s body is made from some scraps of batik fabric collaged to create the effect of muscles and plains of the body.