This piece was entered in, and won, the Enzed Sewing 1990 National Quiltmaking Competition that was held at the Aotea Centre – Te Pokapū. Judge Setsuko Segawa subsequently selected the work to tour to Japan and the United States in the exhibition ‘New Wave International Quilts’.

The work was originally bought by Peter and Rinny Gordon, and subsequently donated to the Aotea Centre collection.

An information panel installed with the work reads:

“Inspired by the Pineapple Log Cabin pattern, artist Gwen Wanigasekera developed this tapestry [quilted piece work] from a small sketch, translated onto graph paper and transposed onto vilene sewing the fabric in reverse. Made of cotton, chintz, satins and silks, the fabrics were hand dyed to achieve the desired shades of colours.

“Ancient civilisations worshipped the sun, the moon, the earth, but we have forgotten these things. We have to treasure them”

“Ko te Pineapple Log Cabin te tauira toi i toko ake ai te whakaaro mō te tui raumata nei. Nā te ringatoi, Gwen Wanigasekera, te tui raumata i waihanga i tētahi huahua iti, ka tā ki te pepa tukutuku, ka whakawhiti atu ki te paparanga vilene, ki reira tuitui whakamuri ai. Kua hanga i te miro, te pūeru tā, te papamōhinu me te papamaene. Kua tāwaitia te papanga nei mā te ringa kia puta mai te tae e wawatatia ana.

“‘Ko tā ngā tūāpori tuauri he whakaatua i te rā, i te marama, i te whenua, engari kua wareware ēnei mea i a tātou. Me maimoa e tātou ēnei mea.’

“I te tau 1990, i tū tētahi whakataetae nui whakaharahara i te motu nei mō te tui kuira ki Aotea – Te Pokapū, me te aha i kaha ake te mihia o tēnei momo mahi toi.

“Nā ngā whakaaturanga nei i kaha ake te whakatairangatia me te kauanuanutia o ngā mahi tui kuira huri noa i te motu.”

See also:

• Tara Werner, Karen Scherer, Katherine Findlay, Aotea Centre Women's Committee et al., ‘Aotea Centre: Works of Art’, (Aotea Centre: 1992)

• Putanga O Te Ra (birth of the Sun), Auckland Live website