#taihoaināianei

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A.A.M. Bos, Whio: Blue Duck, 2017

Epson Premium Lustre print

43 x 43 cm

Edition of 3, 1 AP

Photo: Arekahānara

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Mokopōpaki is pleased to announce the first of our short ‘n’ sharp Taihoa Ināianei or Peek Shows. Literally a ‘stop – pause for a moment’ Taihoa Ināianei give our unknown and emergent artists at Mokopōpaki an opportunity to step up, take the floor and test out their ideas.

In the Brown Room at Mokopōpaki, our Taihoa Ināianei for November 2017 features new artist A.A.M. Bos with PĀNiA! in a playful, three-week project, Whio: Blue Duck – exploring the nature and behaviour of this handsome but most secretive of native birds.

Whio: Blue Duck: Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos

The plumage of both adult male and female Whio is slate blue-grey in colour with chestnut brown spotting on the breast. Whio have attractive pale grey bills with some greenish iridescence on their head, neck and back and piercing yellow eyes.

Whio are believed to be an ancient species of Anatidae whose evolutionary isolation and confined alpine habitat has made them one of the most highly specialised waterfowl in the world. At home navigating the clear fast-flowing rivers of the New Zealand high country, Whio have developed unique anatomical adaptations such as the protective black flap at the tip of their bills and webbed feet able to collapse and fold like an umbrella, reducing drag as they negotiate the swift rapids of torrential mountain streams.

Whio feed on aquatic insects and larvae by systematically skimming the surface of white water to nibble over the downstream faces of boulders in the shallows of rapids.

Whio: Blue Duck are an endangered species and are intensely territorial and reclusive in behaviour. Whio are watchful and ever vigilant and will always see you before you are able to see them. Should they be disturbed, male Whio will sound the alarm by making a shrill, high-pitched, wheezy, disyllabic whistle Whi-o! from where the Māori name of the species is derived.

Whakarongo mai Whānau: Please note, there will be no opening event for Whio: Blue Duck

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References:

Lindsey, T.; Morris, R., Collins Field Guide to New Zealand Wildlife, Auckland: Harper Collins, 2000, p. 45.

nzbirdsonline.org.nz

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PĀNiA!, Duck! Playing games with Malcolm Ross: PĀNiA! takes the court, 2017

Duct tape, rope, bungee hooks, fixings, goose feather shuttlecocks

4 parts, installation dimensions variable

Photo: Arekahānara

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PĀNiA!, Commander Duck & The Red-Neck Millionaires, 2017

Folding canvas chair, tekau tāra, New Zealand ten-dollar note, plastic peg

85 x 52.5 x 47 cm

Photo: Arekahānara

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PĀNiA!, Blue Duck, 2017

Upscale plastic toy ducks, lacquer

2 parts, 23.5 x 21.5 x 25 cm each

Photo: Arekahānara

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PĀNiA!, Toilet Duck, 2017

Enamel on plastic bottles, ‘TOILET’ sign, fixings, adhesive

3 parts, installation dimensions variable

Photo: Arekahānara