Toko by and by Madison Kelly

Toko by and by is a percussive, interactive artwork that acknowledges the mauri and resilience of the Ōtākou harbour and its multispecies community.  Mapping a year of field drawing around the water’s edges over the course of a single tidal cycle, the artwork invites you to meet the coast of Te Awa Ōtākou / Otago, here in the home waters of Tauranga Moana.

Researched and developed on artist residency in Whaka Oho Rahi, Broad Bay, Madison Kelly (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Pākehā) spent time on the southeastern coastline of Te Waipounamu reading and influenced by the transcribed kōrero of Kāi Tahu tipuna Erihāpeti Pātahi, who lived around Ōtākou during the first arrivals of tākata pora (early settlers on ships). Much of Pātahi’s kōrero speaks to variations of repeat encounter — to the people she meets, finds and loses contact with, and to settlements and resettlements around different kaik of Te Waipounamu. Passages of time are observed through the maramataka, and with newer frames of reference such as the English phrase “by and by” to contextualise cycles of connection, loss, resource, and a shifting understanding of Kāitahutaka in this intense period of European settlement and intermarriage.

The phasic rhythms of the moon, migrating marine birds, mahika kai, and the intertidal zone are all etched into marine-grade aluminium, as surfaces for holding and casting out whakapapa. Each pipe is ready to be musically activated by a series of mallets, brushes and toko / sticks sourced from Te Tai-o-Āraiteuru, East Otago. Hear and feel the connection of these coastlines to Te Waipounamu by way of shared waves, winds, waka and whakapapa.

We encourage you to play this artwork using the instruments provided.

Toko by and by was first presented at Blue Oyster Art Project Space, following the Blue Oyster Art Project Space Caselberg Trust Summer Residency undertaken by Kelly in 2022.