Yuki Kihara, Mokopuna Leper Island (2021).
From Quarantine Islands (2021) series.
Lenticular photograph. 1485 x 1050 mm.
Courtesy of Yuki Kihara and Milford Galleries Queenstown.
Acquired by Pātaka Museum + Art, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Mokopuna Leper Island
Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika is acknowledged as the tāngata whenua of Mokopuna (grandchild). Mokopuna is located adjucent to Mātiu Somes Island and Makāro Ward Island (collectively known as Harbour Islands) in Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington Harbour. These islands are intimately connected to Kupe, the legendary Polynesian navigator who left many markers on the landscape of Aotearoa. Between 1903 and 1904, Mokopuna was the home for Kim Lee, a Cantonese grocer supposedly diagonosed with leprosy following racist complaints from other residents in the quarantine station in Matiu Somes Island Kim stayed in Mokopuna for several months, where he was supplied with food and water via a flyng fox. Lee died alone on Mokopuna on 14th March 1904 and was buried on Matiu Somes Island.
Behind the scenes
Lenticular Print Simulations
Yuki Kihara, Mokopuna Leper Island (2021) – simulated view of lenticular print animation