Whakamana means to give authority, give effect, give prestige, to confirm, enable, authorise, legitimise, empower, validate and enact. For Darryn George, whakamana is not an abstract concept; it is relational, personal, and culturally rooted. The works in Whakamana are grounded in acknowledgement, remembrance, and restoration. The title speaks to the act of honouring and upholding the mana of people, both those whose names are known and those whose influence has quietly shaped the artist’s life. By giving them space within the gallery, George elevates these quiet contributions, affirming that mana is not dependent on visibility or status.

The exhibition is structured around two interconnected bodies of work: The Tribute series and the Whakamārie works. Together, they trace a movement from acknowledgement of lineage and influence toward a state of calm, reconciliation, and spiritual quiet. Tribute Maui 1816 exemplifies the approach of these works. The artist uses a painting vocabulary based on Māori design and symbolism alongside exploration of abstraction; contrasting intricate, detailed line work with colour gradients, washes, colour blocking and impasto areas where paint is applied, squished and pulled off, creating an effect that echoes carved wood surfaces.

Acknowledging those who have gone before is fundamental in Māori culture. This recognition is carried through carving, through moko, and through mihi, where a person locates themselves by detailing histories that have formed them. The Tribute series operates within this tradition. These works function as visual mihi: acts of gratitude and remembrance directed toward individuals who have contributed to the artist’s life.

Alongside the tributes are large-scale paintings of early Māori converts to Christianity, figures whose lives sit at the intersection of Māori and Christian histories. Tribute Māui 1816 (2025) commemorates Māui, an early convert baptised through contact with missionaries, who later died in England at just twenty years of age. Tribute Rota Waitoa (2025) honours the first ordained Māori Anglican minister, while Tribute Piripi Taumata-a-Kura (2025) acknowledges one of the most remarkable Māori evangelists of the Ngāti Porou iwi. These works do not simply document historical figures; they recognise the spiritual, cultural, and personal courage required to move between worlds at a time of profound change.

The Whakamārie works form the second series. Whakamārie has a meaning that encompasses calm, comfort, and the restoration of peace, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. In contrast to the narrative weight of the Tribute paintings, they are pared back, minimal and at large scale. Marked by a signature floating “onement” form that hovers centrally within each composition, the paintings draw inspiration from the work of Barnett Newman, whose monumental fields of colour are interrupted by vertical lines intended to lead the viewer toward the metaphysical or spiritual. These works respond to Newman’s ambition by seeking to imbue minimalist abstraction with meaning and a sense of restored presence.

Presented in partnership with Te Kano Estate.