Personal Structures
Room 4, Palazzo Bembo
Venice
Operning Speakers:
Ben Bergman, Project Curator
Nicholas Constantini, Manager, Cook Islands Tourism, Southern Europe
Sara Danieli, Head of Art, Personal Structures
Mahiriki Tangaroa presents Kaveinga – Angels of the Ocean, a site-specific series of paintings for Personal Structures, the global contemporary art exhibition hosted by the European Cultural Centre (ECC) in parallel with the Venice Biennale. Rooted in the traditions of Polynesian voyaging and ancestral connections to the ocean, Tangaroa’s work engages with themes of navigation, spirituality, and the enduring legacies of seafaring cultures.
For the people of the Cook Islands and wider Polynesia, the ocean has long been both pathway and protector, holding the stories of countless generations who traversed its vast expanse. These waters, spanning a third of the world's surface, were navigated with an advanced knowledge system that predated European exploration. Polynesian wayfinders mastered the art of celestial navigation, reading the stars, the movement of ocean swells, the flight of birds, and subtle environmental cues to chart expansive journeys. Unlike the fixed cartographic maps of the West, Polynesian navigation was dynamic, embodied, and deeply attuned to the rhythms of nature.
Tangaroa’s work speaks to the profound relationship between land, sea, and sky—a worldview where spiritual belief and environmental knowledge were inseparable. In her paintings, sacred landscapes emerge under celestial constellations, evoking the spaces where voyagers set their course under the guidance of gods and ancestral spirits. She reflects on how Polynesian cosmology has evolved under colonial influence, where indigenous spiritual beliefs once rooted in nature and navigation have been reframed within Western religious structures. Yet, the echoes of the past remain embedded in language, chiefly titles, and shared cultural motifs across Polynesia.
At the heart of this exhibition is kaveinga, a term that signifies both a literal pathway and a metaphysical journey. The legendary deity Tangaroa (TaŹ»aroa, Tangaloa, Kanaloa), recognized across Polynesia as the god of the sea and fertility, was a central figure in ensuring safe passage. His presence within this body of work acknowledges the endurance of traditional knowledge systems and the sacred responsibilities of seafarers who upheld the prosperity of their people. Voyaging was not merely an act of exploration; it was a means of strengthening alliances, establishing settlements, and ensuring the survival of cultural traditions across vast distances.
Tangaroa’s paintings also reflect on the role of the warrior within these narratives of movement and expansion. Beyond the romanticized image of the Pacific explorer, Polynesian voyages were often strategic, involving battles for territory, resources, and influence. As Polynesians moved across the ocean, they forged alliances, waged wars, and built empires that extended from the Cook Islands to Aotearoa, Hawai‘i, and Rapa Nui. These histories, often overshadowed by European narratives of "discovery," underscore the agency and sophistication of Polynesian societies long before Western contact.
Through Kaveinga – Angels of the Ocean, Mahiriki Tangaroa offers a meditation on the enduring strength of Polynesian identity, a reminder of the knowledge carried within the ocean’s currents and the stars above. Her work calls upon viewers to reconsider the Pacific not as a remote expanse, but as a network of sophisticated, interconnected cultures whose legacy of exploration, adaptation, and resilience continues to shape contemporary understandings of place and belonging.
