She exhibits widely; both as a sculptor and as a painter. Rapira Davies is interested in the empowerment of Māori women in spite of perceived racism (in a Pākehā culture) and sexism (within the patriarchal structure of Māori tribal organisation). She uses her art work to make statements about perceived injustices against Māori.[4]
She is well known for her landscape sculpture commission for Te Aro Park (previously called Pigeon Park) in central Wellington.[5] The ceramic tile permanent work is considered one of New Zealand's most successful public sculptures.[6] Set in a narrow triangle of public space with adjacent busy roads and much foot traffic it is a very visible work.[7]
One of Rapira Davies' major works, the sculptural installation Nga Morehu (1988), the title of which translates to 'the survivors', is held by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,[1] along with preparatory drawings.[8] The work was originally made for Whakamamae ('to feel pain'), an exhibition Rapira Davies had with painter Robyn Kahukiwa at the Wellington City Art Gallery in 1988.[9]Ngā Morehu pays tribute to the strength and resilience of Māori women.[9][1] The work depicts the karanga, the call of welcome performed by women which begins ceremonial occasions, through a group of terracotta figures arranged on an unfinished whāriki (woven flax mat).[9][1] The whāriki is mentioned by Rapira Davies as being the defining component of the piece. Her daughter completed the weaving after very little instruction, and which Rapira Davies describes as her journey into adulthood.[10] A naked female child faces a group of women advancing towards her, performing the karanga, and at the end of the mat is a seated kuia (female elder).[9] The body of the child is adorned with the words of a contemporary poem and that of the kaikaranga (the women leading the karanga) with the words of a waiata (a song), while the other female forms carry racial slurs.[1] Curator Megan Tamati-Quennell writes:
Reflecting the rise of the political Māori voice and the place of feminism in New Zealand art at the time, Ngā Morehu portrays the impact of colonisation on Māori culture and Māori women particularly.[1] Yet Rapira Davies' work suggest transcendence too, by revealing a ritual state rarely portrayed, and through it, a Māori definition of beauty, status and worth.[9]
In 2015 Te Papa opened a focus exhibition on Rapira Davies and fellow senior artist Emily Karaka which includes Ngā Morehu alongside preparatory sketches and more recent works.[11]
^ abcdefMuseum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (2005). Treasures from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Te Papa Press. p. 81. ISBN1-877385-12-3.
^"prospect". telecomprospect2004.org.nz. 2011. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011. Shona Rapira Davies originally made Raising the Taniwha, a series of small, wall-mounted ceramic figures, while on a residency for indigenous artists at the Banff Centre of the Arts in Canada.
^ abKirker, Anne, 1947- (1993). New Zealand women artists : a survey of 150 years. Tortola, BVI: Craftsman House. pp. 211–212. ISBN9768097302. OCLC28491897.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"Te Aro Park003". secure.flickr.com. 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011. Walking over the names of Maori ancestors – revealing the disrespect with which they have been historically treated. 2015 January–August Wellington Community centre.
^"Te Aro Park – Te Āti Awa of Wellington – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". teara.govt.nz. 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011. Te Aro Park in central Wellington (between Manners and Dixon streets) marks part of the site of the major pā, Te Aro. The park, designed by ceramics artist Shona Rapira Davies, is in the shape of a canoe, with the prow on the extreme right of the photograph.
^"Bowen Galleries :: Artists Bio :: Shona Rapira Davies". bowengalleries.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011. From 1988 to 1992 Shona designed and completed Te Aro Park in Wellington, a major ceramic tile permanent work and considered one of New Zealand's most successful public sculptures.
^"A Cat Among the Pigeons". nzonscreen.com. 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011. This doco follows the passionate, stroppy Rapira Davies, as she fights cost overruns, landscape architects and passersby, and for her vision (which involved handcrafting Te Aro park's 20,000+ ceramic tiles).
^"Nga Morehu". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
^ abcdeMcAloon, William (2009). Art at Te Papa. Wellington: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. p. 355. ISBN9781877385483.
^Pū Manawa : a celebration of whatu, rarange, and tāniko. Tamati-Quennell, Megan., Anderson, Eva., Museum of New Zealand. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand. 1993. p. 29. ISBN0909010005. OCLC31134148.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
