09/05/2026
Congratulations to Fiona Pardington and all involved in the presentation of Taharaki Skyside at the 61st La Biennale di Venezia. Among the myriad preparations, Fiona considered her adornment for this special occasion. At the karakia and mihi offered by Ngāi Tahu whānau and iwi, she wore a specially commissioned Pacific lace ruff by Rowan Panther, ‘The ocean carries their memories’.
Rowan writes, “The lace is an emulation of nature and the fragile frills grown on the outer edges of shells. While typically pearls adorn a ruff, this ruff adorns black mother-of-pearl Parau found only in the Pacific. The materials are representative of the natural world surrounding us and the ocean that connects us. It feels appropriate for our representative to wear a Pacific ruff to the Venetian Court.
All my work honours Whakapapa. In this case it honours the lacemakers in Fiona’s own family. I wanted to remove linear timelines of ancestry, to create a whakapapa that intertwines and overlaps, one that can be held close. There is an idea that water can carry memories and is a living archive, able to remember and hold ancestral knowledge. Your people are not gone, they are still here, the ocean is carrying their memory.”
The commission was particularly meaningful to Rowan because of her connection to Fiona. Twenty years ago, Fiona was Rowan’s tutor at Elam. In Rowan’s final year when her newfound love of lace began to engulf her photographic practice, Fiona was a strong voice of support.
