Sanné Mestrom is a critically acclaimed New Zealand artist based in Australia. Typically, her sculptures draw on the psychological, emotional and cultural significance attached to iconic, modernist works by artists like Constantin Brancusi, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore, which she revisits through a feminist lens. For Cordis Auckland, she has created three new bronze sculptures, which reflect on the role that Atua Wāhine – Māori Goddesses play within Te Ao Māori. Much of Mestrom’s practice draws on creation mythology and strives to embody a transcendental form with real power, so that each sculpture is able to elicit a private experience within a shared public space. 

As guests arrive at Cordis Auckland, they are greeted by Holding up the Sky – a 3.5-metre bronze representation of Ika-roa – Māori Mother Goddess. Her arms reach to the sky, protecting all those who pass beneath her. In Māori mythology, Ika-roa is the Mother Goddess of all the stars, the ornaments of the sky. Ika-Roa is also an alternative name for the Milky Way. The work speaks of kaitiakitanga, our guardianship and interconnectedness with the stars and with the earth. As the goddess, she stands firm on the ground while she holds up the stars. The goddess Ika-roa is also referred to as Mangōroa i ata or ‘long shark in the early dawn’. She is the long, white shark who reaches to the dawn, the te whai ao (light before dawn) – depicting the stars that fade as the dawn arrives. Holding up the Sky seeks to activate te manawa, the heart line, which passes between the sky, the ground, our bodies and our surrounding urban environment. She stands tall with her body becoming a conduit connecting the earth with the stars, and the orientation of her body reflects the four cardinal points or directions of north, south, east and west.

Located at the entrance to the hotel,Holding up the Sky becomes a guardian for the guests, welcoming and protecting visitors to the hotel from all four corners of the globe.

Upstairs on Level 14, at the entrance to the Executive Lounge, is another of Mestrom’s Atua Wāhine sculptures. Entitled Papatūānuku (Earth Mother), this work draws on the story of Papatūānuku – the Māori earth mother – the origin of all things and the giver of life. She is seen as the creator of humans and the place to which they return, and is considered to be a foundation for human action. At Cordis, Papatūānuku (Earth Mother) is a guardian, connecting the visitor with the land of Aotearoa and welcoming people. This work also helps bring the viewer a sense of their own place in the world – or their own tūrangawaewae – and the power of knowing their own place within it. 

The third work in this series, Kneeling before the Dawn, is located in the Chairman’s Suite and, in contrast with Holding up the Sky, the figure in this sculpture appears introspective, looking inward while reflecting on what has been and preparing for what is to come. She embodies te whai ao, or the moment before dawn, when all is still and internal, as if she is readying herself for the spark of day. Kneeling before the Dawn represents the hotel suite as a space of retreat and rest, where guests might gather themselves for the world beyond.

Selected photography: Sam Hartnett. Images courtesy of the artist.