Krishna Aoraki

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Print sizes and editions

• Regular museum archival paper print - 700 x 583mm
  (limited to 95)
• Large museum archival paper print - 992 x 827mm
  (limited to 95)
• Extra Large museum canvas print - 1138 x 950mm
  (limited to 95)

Your unique limited edition fine art print

1. Sofia Minson creates your exclusive signed print
2. We ship for $25 in NZ and from $50 internationally
3. Your artwork arrives rolled, ready to be framed - do you need help? Request framing guidance

Original painting SOLD, flashe (acrylic vinyl) on moulded fibreglass board, 1556 x 1336mm (including gold frame), 2017

The story of Krishna Aoraki 

The elements collide. Earth is Ngāi Tahu's sacred mountain Aoraki Mt Cook. Water is the snow and glaciers melting into the brilliant turquoise Lake Pukaki. Sky is the reflective metallic gold of Raa, the sun. The Hindu god Krishna encodes a message in sacred geometric patterns.

A statement piece

"Krishna Aoraki" is a statement piece.  Luminous gold triangles imprint themselves onto your vision. Inter-dimensional messages are encoded in psychedelic geometric patterns.

The substrate I was working on lent character and direction to the artwork itself. It is fibreglass board, moulded with the deep cracks like gnarled concrete.  I had three such boards to work on and all three drew out rugged, rocky, snow covered Aoraki from my imagination.

The legend of Aoraki, Cloud in the Sky

There was once no Aotearoa, the waters of kiwa covered the land. Rakinui, Sky Father, wedded Papatūānuku, Earth Mother. Raki's four sons including Aoraki, came down to greet their father's new wife. They travelled in a canoe called Te Waka o Aoraki and met Papatūānuku. She lay as one body in a huge continent known as Hawaiiki.

Keen to explore, the voyagers set out to sea, but no matter how far they paddled, they could not find land. They decided to return to their celestial home. The karakia (incantation) which should have lifted the waka back to the heavens, failed. The canoe fell back into the sea, turning over onto its side, becoming stone and earth in the process.

The creation of the Southern Alps

The waka formed the South Island of New Zealand, known today as Te Waka o Aoraki. Aoraki and his brothers clambered on to the high side of the waka and were also turned to stone. Aoraki remains as the highest peak of the Southern Alps. His brothers are neighbouring mountains.
As a great Ngāi Tahu ancestor embodied in the mountain, Aoraki provides an important link between the supernatural and natural worlds.  The highest places on earth are often tapu (sacred). They are powerful conduits between earth and dimensions beyond.

The people of Ngāi Tahu trace their lineage back to Tahupōtiki, the younger brother of Porourangi who was one of the great ancestors of Ngāti Porou - Sofia's own iwi.

The legend of Krishna

Krishna is the god of compassion, tenderness, playfulness and love in Hinduism.

There are eight rows of triangles in the painting. They represent Krishna as the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, the preserving force in the universe. Krishna is also worshipped as Supreme God in his own right.  

The bright blue of the lake mirrors the blue-skinned depictions of Krishna in traditional Hindu artworks.

Krishna, a playful god

Lila means playfulness for the sake of fun and enjoyment, not for gain. In legend, Krishna's flute-playing attracts people who come to sing and dance with him. Even when he is battling with a serpent to protect others, Krishna is described as if he were playing a game.

Lila is a way of describing the whole cosmos as the outcome of creative play by the divine absolute. Over the years I have become aware of the concept of lila in art making and I try and make my studio a place of lila.

A divine hero, a supreme power

The epic poem Mahabharata portrays Krishna's evolution from a god-child. He becomes a cow herder, a mischievous prankster, a protector and an enchanting and playful lover. He steals the hearts of the people and is a divine hero who slays a tyrant king. He is also worshipped as the supreme power.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna gives his friend Arjuna advice about the nature of life and morality when one is faced with a war between good and evil. They discuss the impermanence of matter, the permanence of the soul, duties and responsibilities and the nature of true peace.

What is Krishna Aoraki?

The name Krishna Aoraki brings two gods and two mythological traditions together - Hindu and Maori. This binding of the two gods in the title was instinctual. As I worked on the piece I understood the connections more fully.  

The message I'm getting from this painting is that Aoraki is acting as a conduit between the heavens and the earth. This channel allows Krishna to come through in the form of this geometric pattern.

Inspired my Maori Tukutuku and Egyptian pyramids

The pattern is inspired by Maori Tukutuku panels, seen in marae. Its triangular nature also makes me think of Egyptian pyramids, encoding hidden messages. Symbols have the power to bypass our conscious, resisting mind. They speak directly to our sub-conscious.

I think of these geometric symbols as a gateway through which Krishna consciousness reveals itself.  And what is the message of Krishna?  It seems to be that love, playfulness and living in the heart is not simply a means to salvation. It is the highest life.

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Sofia Minson Paintings | New Zealand Artwork