Āhua o Te Wai: Photographic Project
Overview
In 2022, Te Kura Taka Pini commissioned celebrated photographer Anne Noble ONZM to undertake a major project documenting the impact of declining water quality on mahinga kai (customary food-gathering) sites across Canterbury and the Southern takiwā.
Focusing on freshwater rivers and lakes, Noble captured the worsening state of water quality and quantity, alongside the impacts on mana whenua relationships with wai (water).
Her images reveal toxic chemical and sediment discharges, excessive water abstraction for irrigation, the historic and ongoing effects of wetland drainage, river diversions, and other activities harming these waterways.
Most powerfully, Noble’s work conveys how intensive, industrial-scale agriculture affects Ngāi Tahu mahinga kai sites and disrupts traditional cultural relationships with water.
Yet the images also offer optimism, highlighting iwi-led mitigation and restoration efforts, presenting forward-looking visions for the future of our waterways.
The project aims to illuminate the impacts on communities, strengthen awareness of mana whenua connections to freshwater and inspire thoughtful public dialogue – whilst also supporting the evidence for the claim against the Crown to recognise Ngāi Tahu rangatiratanga over freshwater.
A selection of this work can now be viewed as a photographic exhibition, Unutai e! Unutai e!, first shown at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. The exhibition opened at the Christchurch Art Gallery on 13 December 2025 and will be on display until 19 April 2026.
