Lisa Reihana
* 1964 Auckland, New Zealand; lives there.
Nomads of the Sea. 2019
4-channel 3D UHD video: multi-channel audio, steel, lighting installation with sculptural components; 19 minutes
Co-commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation and Creative New Zealand, Nga Aho Whakaari, Te Taura Whiri Maori Language Commission and Jan Warburton Charitable Trust.
Co-produced by Artprojects and Reihanamations Ltd
Courtesy of the artist and Artprojects, Northcote, Australia
About the work
Through reimagined narratives based in factual research and primary source material, Lisa Reihana examines the culture and history of Maori and South Pacific Islander peoples. She employs performance, photography and installation as well as video and animation, which are often combined in works to create rich cinematic tableaus. Her recent projects have depicted historical narratives of colonial encounters in the South Pacific as a continuum of entanglements between European and indigenous peoples that continue to this day.
Reihana's immersive 3D installation Nomads of the Sea (2018) weaves historical fact with fiction to explore the social tension between cultural leadership, spiritual custom and egotistical desire in the face of foreign political challenge in 1800's New Zealand. Through Storyteller, a mythical figure who slips between masculine and feminine voices, the viewer learns of Charlotte Badger, a Pakeha (Western) female mutineer, and Puhi, a proud woman of Nga Puhi descent who becomes jealous of Charlotte's rising status. In the early days of colonisation, when intermarriage, trading and the procurement of muskets were seen as essential to Maori survival, Maori Chief Huri Waka welcomes the fugitive Charlotte into his tribal homelands under his protection, thereby upsetting the traditional role of women in Aotearoa as the matriarchs, owners of property and spiritual custodians. Charlotte's presence not only introduces the concept of material wealth and the spoils of England but also draws parallels between the worth of foreign women and the musket. As a Pakeha Maori—Europeans adopted and co-opted by the Maori—she is used to increase prowess, gain strategic ability and ultimately counteract the spread of Western power. He wai ngunguru, the installation's centerpiece, explores these cultural circumstances for women, contrasting European law with Maori culture and morality.
Text from the Sharjah Biennial 14 Guidebook
© 2019 Sharjah Art Foundation
© Photo: Courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation
Gallery 3: Lisa Reihana, Qiu Zhijie. Journey Beyond the Arrow, curated by Zoe Butt. 7 March - 10 June 2019, UAE.