Inspiration
REINGA: Artefact of the Spirit's Journey
Year: 2025
Artist: Sheetol Chawla
Medium: Wearable Sculpture
Materials: Hand embroidery, beadwork, sequins, sculptural wire structures, textile construction, mixed media.
Dimensions: (Insert dimensions )
Location of Inspiration
Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga), Aotearoa New Zealand
Status
Culture as a Living Archive of Human Memory
Cultural Foundation
REINGA was inspired by one of the most profound and enduring beliefs within te ao Māori: the journey of the wairua at Te Rerenga Wairua, Cape Reinga—the sacred place where, according to Māori tradition, the spirit begins its final journey home.
At the northernmost edge of Aotearoa New Zealand, where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet, an ancient Pōhutukawa tree clings to the cliffs above the water. For centuries, this place has been understood as a spiritual threshold, where the wairua pauses before descending through the roots of the tree and continuing its journey toward Hawaiki, the ancestral homeland.
Personal Connection
As a migrant artist born in India and based in Aotearoa New Zealand, I have often reflected on the relationship between identity, belonging, and place. Living between cultures has given me a deep appreciation for the ways people carry memories, traditions, and stories across generations, often using them as anchors of connection in unfamiliar environments.
When I first encountered the story of Te Rerenga Wairua, I was moved by its profound understanding of ancestry, continuity, and the enduring relationship between people and place. Although rooted within a distinct Māori worldview, the belief resonated with questions that I have often considered throughout my own journey: What connects us to home? How do we maintain relationships with our heritage across time and distance? What stories help us understand who we are?
What drew me most strongly to this narrative was its powerful sense of connection. The idea that every spirit remains connected to its ancestors, its origins, and its cultural memory speaks to something deeply human. Across cultures, people seek meaning through stories that help them understand their place within a larger continuum of family, community, history, and belief.
As someone who has experienced life across different cultural landscapes, I recognised within this story a reflection of the universal search for belonging. REINGA became an opportunity to engage with these ideas through artistic practice and to honour a cultural narrative that continues to hold deep significance for many people.
The project ultimately emerged from a place of admiration, curiosity, and respect. It reflects not only an appreciation for the cultural significance of Te Rerenga Wairua, but also a broader interest in how stories, traditions, and collective memory help individuals and communities maintain meaningful connections to identity, ancestry, and place.
Artist Reflection
The creation of REINGA deepened my understanding of the role cultural narratives play in preserving memory across generations. Throughout the development of the work, I became increasingly interested in how stories, beliefs, and traditions function as living archives—carrying knowledge, values, and identity across time.
What continues to resonate with me is the way cultures throughout the world create meaningful relationships between people, place, ancestry, and collective memory. Although these narratives emerge from different histories and traditions, they often address universal questions about belonging, continuity, and our relationship to those who came before us.
REINGA reinforced my belief that art can serve as a bridge between cultures by creating opportunities for reflection, understanding, and dialogue. Through engaging with stories outside our own experience, we gain a deeper appreciation for both cultural diversity and the shared human values that connect us.
The project has become an important milestone within my broader artistic practice. It strengthened my commitment to exploring how artistic creation can contribute to cultural preservation, cultural understanding, and diplomacy between nations. More importantly, it affirmed my belief that stories have the power to connect people across generations, geographies, and cultures, reminding us that memory itself is one of humanity’s most enduring forms of inheritance.
REINGA in the Archive
REINGA forms part of an ongoing artistic archive dedicated to the exploration of culture as a living repository of human memory. Conceived as one chapter within a larger body of work, the project contributes to a long-term investigation into the ways stories, beliefs, traditions, and collective histories shape identity, belonging, and cultural continuity across generations.
Each work within the archive begins with an encounter—whether with a landscape, a cultural narrative, a spiritual philosophy, a historical moment, or a community’s understanding of the world. Through extensive research and artistic interpretation, these encounters are translated into immersive works that seek to preserve, honour, and reimagine cultural knowledge through contemporary artistic practice.
Within this broader framework, REINGA explores themes of ancestry, memory, spiritual journey, and connection to place. Inspired by the significance of Te Rerenga Wairua and the Māori understanding of the wairua’s passage, the work reflects on universal questions that transcend geography and culture: Where do we belong? How do we remain connected to those who came before us? What stories help us understand our place within the world?
As a migrant artist living between cultures, I am particularly interested in how cultural narratives provide continuity across time and distance. REINGA represents one exploration of this idea. Through the story of Te Rerenga Wairua, the work reflects on humanity’s enduring search for home, identity, and connection—concepts that continue to resonate across cultures and generations.
The project exists alongside other works within the archive, including EOS, Black Lioness, MOANA, and currently on going project. While each project emerges from a distinct cultural, historical, or philosophical context, together they form a wider conversation about memory, identity, heritage, migration, belief, and the role of culture in shaping human experience.
The long-term vision of the archive is to build a permanent collection of artworks that contribute to cultural understanding and dialogue between nations. Through research, exhibitions, and artistic creation, the archive seeks to foster meaningful encounters with diverse histories and traditions, while demonstrating how art can serve as a bridge between cultures, communities, and generations.
Viewed within this context, REINGA is not only an individual artwork. It is part of an evolving archive that investigates how cultures preserve meaning, how identities are shaped through stories and place, and how artistic practice can contribute to a deeper understanding of our shared humanity.
Acknowledgement
REINGA was created with deep respect for the cultural significance of Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga) and the enduring Māori traditions associated with this sacred place.
The work draws inspiration from the Māori understanding of the wairua’s journey and from the powerful cultural narratives that have been carried and preserved across generations. These traditions continue to hold profound meaning for many Māori and remain inseparable from the histories, identities, and ancestral connections of the communities who maintain relationships with this place.
The artist acknowledges the guardianship and enduring connection of the northern iwi whose histories and whakapapa are closely associated with Te Rerenga Wairua, including Ngāpuhi, Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa, and Ngāti Kuri. Their role as kaitiaki contributes to the preservation of the cultural knowledge, stories, and traditions connected to this sacred landscape.
REINGA is not intended to represent, interpret, or speak on behalf of Māori culture. Rather, it is an artistic response born from admiration, reflection, and a sincere desire to honour the wisdom contained within a belief that speaks to universal themes of ancestry, belonging, memory, and connection to place.
As a migrant artist living in Aotearoa New Zealand, I am continually inspired by the richness of the cultures that shape this country and by the generosity with which knowledge, stories, and traditions are shared. REINGA emerged from a place of learning, respect, and gratitude.
It is offered as a gesture of cultural appreciation and as part of a broader artistic practice dedicated to exploring how stories, beliefs, and cultural traditions help people understand who they are, where they come from, and how they remain connected across generations.