As part of Te Atamira's exhibition Notes in the Border, Notes at the River, Notes from the Ocean | Notas en la frontera, notas en el río, notas desde el océano comes this truly one-of-a-kind event.

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This translucent raft, inhabited by native plants from Aotearoa and Rapa Nui, becomes a nomadic refuge - projecting voices and stories that explore migration, hospitality, and cultural connection across oceans and time.

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As night falls, interviews with Māori and Rapanui participants are projected from within the raft, with sound accessible via shore-based speakers or QR code. Come and share some kai, bring a blanket, and witness this powerful, living installation as it begins its journey around the lake.

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In case of bad weather, check Te Atamira's social media for updates.

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Topografías del Agua: Isla / Topographies of Water: Island

An art project by Máximo Corvalán-Pincheira

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‘Isla’ is a floating performance work presented as part of the exhibition 'Notes in the Border, Notes at the River, Notes from the Ocean' at Te Atamira. This mobile installation, which is both greenhouse and raft, carries plants, including ferns, kumara and kōwhai, which grow in both Aotearoa and Rapa Nui, symbolising connections between these territories which are geographically distanced and culturally connected. The sculpture acts as a living meeting point. Recorded interviews with Māori and Rapa Nui participants reflect on hospitality, cultural generosity, and the importance of caring for people, memory, traditional knowledge and the natural world. The voices of Waka Tapu navigator Stan Conrad, Mane Stevenson and Macarena Oñate invoke a profound weave between nature, cultural tradition and identity. They emphasise the way in which a return to place, practice, old knowledges and living histories can allow healing and flourishing to ripple from personal experience to interconnected cultures - acknowledging celestial navigation and wayfinding, migration and journeying as a vital connector for all of us who share connections across Moana Nui A Kiwa, from Aotearoa to Latin America.

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The Interviews

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Interview One by Alys Longley in July 2025

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Stan Conrad was the captain of the Waka Tapu Voyage in traditional Polynesian voyaging canoes from Aotearoa NZ to Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile), in August 2012. In this interview he discusses the experience of being part of the renaissance of celestial navigation as an artform and cultural practice that is core to the people of Moana Nui A Kiwa. The Waka Tapu voyage was a momentous event for the people of Polynesia. Using only traditional wayfinding methods—stars, currents, winds, and birds the voyage retraced ancient Polynesian navigation routes. The Waka Tapu voyage  demonstrated the deep science embedded in Indigenous knowledge and reconnected Pacific peoples across vast oceans, strengthening cultural pride and highlighting shared ancestry with South America. It also drew attention to environmental stewardship, resilience, and the enduring significance of oceanic voyaging traditions.

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Interview Two by Máximo Corvalán-Pincheira in August 2025

Margareth Stevenson shares her experience as an adopted daughter who discovers her Rapa Nui origins. Her trip to the island led her to reconnect with her biological family and a vibrant culture that she recognised as her own. Margareth recognises herself as a transplanted plant that, upon returning to its territory, blossoms: a metaphor for healing, identity, and roots.

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Interview Three by Máximo Corvalán-Pincheira in August 2025

Macarena Oñate recounts her story marked by her family's exile in Venezuela, where childhood memories materialised in small objects such as stones and corals. Later, the sea became a place of memory and farewell Her arrival in Rapa Nui opened up a deep connection with the ocean: from diving in crystal-clear waters to practising Polynesian canoeing, she discovers the connection between nature, culture and community. In her testimony, the sea ceases to be a border and reveals itself as a bond that unites sister cultures in Moana Nui A Kiwa.

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About the Artist:

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Máximo Corvalán-Pincheira has developed an extensive international career over the past twenty years, creating work across South America, North America, Europe, Asia, and Aotearoa New Zealand. He studied Fine Arts at ARCIS University in Santiago, graduating in 2000, and later completed a Master’s degree in Visual Arts at the University of Chile in 2002. He has been awarded numerous national and international fellowships, residencies, and awards, enabling the development of his work in both solo and group exhibitions. He has represented Chile in many international exhibitions on South American art.

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Corvalán-Pincheira spent the first eighteen years of his life in exile from his homeland of Chile, living in Bogotá, Berlin, Havana, and Mexico City. This formative experience of displacement informs a diverse body of work that spans individual, community, social, biological, and ecological concerns - primarily expressed through multi-modal installation including sculpture, video, performance actions, sound, photography, and painting.

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