Rāwhiti

Description

Jamie Boynton — Rāwhiti — 2025

Acrylic with Strontium Aluminate (glowing compound) and resin on plywood. 105 cm x 105 cm.

Rāwhiti represents the masculine energy of the rising sun — a metaphor for enlightenment and empowerment, and a symbol for current and future generations moving forward. This work builds on layered acrylic fields and embedded glow-reactive strontium aluminate, sealed beneath a glossy resin skin to produce surfaces that shift from daylight intensity to a luminous nocturnal afterglow. Warm, directional colour and radiating brushwork evoke dawn’s momentum, while the glow compound activates in low light to extend the composition’s narrative, suggesting continual renewal and the persistence of hope.

The plywood support introduces organic grain and structural warmth, grounding the solar motif with tactile presence. Compositional elements imply upward movement and collective progression, inviting viewers to read the piece as both an emblem of personal awakening and a generational call to advance. Rāwhiti functions as a visual and reflective experience—celebrating light, agency, and the forward drive of communities into the future.