Ko te hīnaki, ko ōna ahunga whakairo me ōna tauira manganga, he mahinga toi nui whakaharahara o te ahurea Māori. Ko tōna whakamahinga hei mauhere tuna, ko tōna tikanga mahi, tae atu ki ōna rauemi waihanga, he kōrero i ahu mai i te mātauranga ā-iwi me te taiao.

He tirohanga whānui tēnei whakaaturanga ki tēnei mea te hīnaki. Atu i te whakaatu i ēnei taonga, ka aro anō tēnei whakaaturanga ki ngā pahī e rua a ētahi whare taonga i mua, waihoki ki te hononga a te Māori ki ngā awa whakahirahira e rua me ngā urupare toi hou e pā ana ki te hīnaki.

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Hīnaki, with their sculptural dimensions and intricate designs, are a distinctive Māori art form of great cultural significance. In their function as eel traps, their form, and their materials, they express mātauranga ā-iwi of te taiao.

This exhibition provides a broad experience of hīnaki. As well as displaying these taonga, it focuses on two early museum expeditions, Māori relationships with two significant awa, and contemporary artworks related or responding to hīnaki.