An Age of Iron – Agency, co-creation and environmental advocacy in lens-based practice

Abstract

Tahāroa is a tiny settlement to the South-West of the Kawhia harbor, in the North Island of Aotearoa-New Zealand. N.Z Steel first brokered an agreement with local tribe Ngāti Mahuta ki-te-Hauāuru in the 1970’s to extract the titanomagnetite from the sands and ship it offshore for use in the construction of steel. This film asks what prolonged mineral extraction and the re-introduction of that material into the global manufacturing chain might mean for the mauri (or spirit) of the land, and for our planetary relationships.

Keywords

• observational documentary
• new zealand
• mineral extraction
• mauri
• evironmental advocacy