An improbable performance
Michael Parekowhai, Ngati WhakarongoNgariki Rotoawe, Aotearoa New Zealand b.1968 / The Horn of Africa (detail) 2006 / Wood, fibreglass, steel, brass, automotive paint / 395 x 200 x 260cm / Purchased 2008 with funds from the Queensland Government's GOMA Acquisitions Fund in recognition of the contribution to the Gallery by Wayne Goss (Chair of Trustees 1999-2008) / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Michael Parekowhai / View full image
Michael Parekōwhai is one of New Zealand's leading contemporary artists, his works often play with scale and space. At first glance, his spectacular sculpture The Horn of Africa 2006 is a feat of perplexing engineering of a life-size seal balancing a concert grand piano on its nose. While the overwhelming question might initially be its engineering, this sculpture is more than eye-catching, beneath its appearance are many layers of meaning in this gravity-defying artwork.
Viewing Michael Parekowhai’s The Horn of Africa 2006 in 'Wonderstruck' at the Gallery of Modern Art, 2025 / Photograph: J Ruckli © QAGOMA / View full image
The balancing act performed enables Parekōwhai to metaphorically prod and toy with shifting ideas of State and culture. Particularly important are the intertwined pakeha and Maori histories that make up present day New Zealand.
Inscribed on the black and glossy frame of the piano is the title of Jane Mander’s 1920 novel The Story of a New Zealand River (illustrated). In the novel, the piano symbolises the ‘civilising force’ of European settlement. The sculpture, rich with filmic and literary references also invokes Jane Campion’s 1993 film The Piano.
Michael Parekowhai, Ngati WhakarongoNgariki Rotoawe, Aotearoa New Zealand b.1968 / The Horn of Africa (detail) 2006 / Wood, fibreglass, steel, brass, automotive paint / 395 x 200 x 260cm / Purchased 2008 with funds from the Queensland Government's GOMA Acquisitions Fund in recognition of the contribution to the Gallery by Wayne Goss (Chair of Trustees 1999-2008) / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Michael Parekowhai / View full image
Michael Parekowhai, Ngati WhakarongoNgariki Rotoawe, Aotearoa New Zealand b.1968 / The Horn of Africa 2006 / Wood, fibreglass, steel, brass, automotive paint / 395 x 200 x 260cm / Purchased 2008 with funds from the Queensland Government's GOMA Acquisitions Fund in recognition of the contribution to the Gallery by Wayne Goss (Chair of Trustees 1999-2008) / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Michael Parekowhai / View full image
In The Horn of Africa, the large instrument is held aloft on the nose of a kekeno (New Zealand fur seal, Arctocephalus forsteri). Together, the shape created by the seal balancing the piano deliberately suggests the shape of Te Ika-a-Māui and Te Waipounamu (New Zealand’s North and South islands). The piano could also be seen as the culturally and politically top-heavy North Island, while the South Island is playfully represented by a seal, evoking a wild and uninhabited place. Indigenous to the South Pacific, the kekeno, whose population is growing, was at risk of extinction during early colonisation.
Parekōwhai's works have notoriously obscure titles, The Horn of Africa refers to the complex historical, scientific and political events focused on the Eastern African peninsula believed to be the birthplace of humankind.
View Michael Parekōwhai’s The Horn of Africa 2006 in 'Wonderstruck' at the Gallery of Modern Art until 6 October 2025 or delve into the works on display.
Michael Parekowhai, Ngati WhakarongoNgariki Rotoawe, Aotearoa New Zealand b.1968 / The Horn of Africa 2006 / Wood, fibreglass, steel, brass, automotive paint / 395 x 200 x 260cm / Purchased 2008 with funds from the Queensland Government's GOMA Acquisitions Fund in recognition of the contribution to the Gallery by Wayne Goss (Chair of Trustees 1999-2008) / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Michael Parekowhai / Photograph: N Umek © QAGOMA / View full image
Wonderstruck
28 June – 6 October 2025
Gallery of Modern Art
Gallery 1.1 (The Fairfax Gallery), Gallery 1.2 & Gallery 1.3 (Eric and Marion Taylor Gallery)
Brisbane, Australia
Free entry