The work relates to the spirituality of the Pai Marire faith, a syncretic movement between traditional Maori religion and the strand of Christianity that emerged in New Zealand in the late 19th century and played an important role in the resistance of native peoples to the European invaders. The two towers that make up the installation serve as reminders of the stone obelisks erected in Petane and Ōmarunui in 1916 by the veterans of the “one-day war.” They are clad in wood, reminiscent of the houses from the period. The monuments to peace and evil are purposefully similar, reflective of how dichotomies can often look the same depending on one’s perspective.
