Christina Hurihia Wirihana (b 1949) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

weaver from

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on the ...

Ngāti Pikiao Ngāti Pikiao is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. Te Arawa FM is the radio station of Te Arawa iwi, including Ngāti Pikiao, Tūhourangi and Ngāti Whakaue. It was established in the early 1980s and became a charitable entity in November 1990. The s ...

, Ngāti Rangiunora,

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupo and Manawatu/Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti Raukawa reco ...

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are oth ...

iwi.

Biography

Wirihana was born in Rotorua in 1949. Her mother is the renowned weaver

Matekino Lawless Matekino Lawless (née Onehi; born February 1928) is a New Zealand master weaver from Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Whawhakia iwi. Her work is held at marae, in private collections, in the collections of New Zealand and international museums, an ...

. Wirihana attributes Dame Rangimarie Hetet, Diggeress Te Kanawa and

Emily Schuster Emily Rangitiaria Schuster (née Hicks, 12 January 1927 – 5 September 1997) was a New Zealand master weaver of Te Arawa descent. Early life and family Born in 1927 in Rotorua, Schuster was the niece of Rangitiaria Dennan, better known as Gu ...

as major influences but states her mother as being her most significant teacher. Wirihana was commissioned to weave an installation of

harakeke ''Phormium tenax'' (called flax in New Zealand English; in Māori; New Zealand flax outside New Zealand; and New Zealand hemp in historical nautical contexts) is an evergreen perennial plant native to New Zealand and Norfolk Island that is an i ...

panels that was part of a touring exhibition called ''Anō te Ātaahua - Honouring the Gifts of our Elders'' (2000-2002) that was presented in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

and

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, Whangārei District, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and ...

. Wirihana is currently a senior lecturer at Toihoukura, a Māori visual arts school within the

Eastern Institute of Technology The Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) is a government owned tertiary education institution with three campuses: Hawke’s Bay, Auckland, and Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne, New Zealand. It is also referred to as EIT Hawke's Bay, EIT Tairāw ...

, and has previously been fibre tutor at the Waiariki Polytechnic in

. The significant international touring exhibition Toi Māori: The Eternal Thread was co-curated by Wirihana. Her weaving is often an exploration of natural materials and processes. "In my weaving I am continually inspired by the surrounds of my maunga (mountain) Matawhaura, moana tapu Rotoiti (Lake Rotoiti), my marae Taurua and especially my whanau (family)."

Recognition

Wirihana is the Chairperson of

Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa or Māori Weavers New Zealand is the New Zealand national Māori weavers’ collective, which aims to foster and preserve Māori traditional textiles. It has played an important role in facilitating the gatherin ...

(National Collective of Māori Weavers in New Zealand). In 2014 this collective of weavers exhibited 49

tukutuku Tukutuku panelling is a distinctive art form of the Māori people of New Zealand, a traditional latticework used to decorate meeting houses (wharenui). Other names are tuitui and arapaki. Tukutuku flank the posts around the edge of the wharenui ...

panels in ''Kāhui Raranga: The Art of Tukutuku'' at

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

. These panels are to be installed early 2015 at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York. Wirihana has received numerous funding from

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

to develop new work and travel overseas for residencies, the most recent being a 2014 artist residency in Hawaii. In 2003 Wirihana received Te Tohu Toi Kē from

Te Waka Toi The Te Waka Toi awards are the premier awards in the field of ''ngā toi Māori'' (Māori arts). They have been awarded by Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development ...

Creative New Zealand for making a positive development within Māori arts. Wirihana is a lifelong member of the Māori Women’s Welfare League.

Notable works

The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

holds five kete whakairo made by Wirihana in 1993. One is described as plaited from undyed kiekie leaf strips in an all-over twilled pattern of horizontal bands of diamonds. There is a band of check plaiting at the rim and handles made of braided

muka Muka is prepared fibre of Phormium_tenax, New Zealand flax ( mi, links=yes, harakeke). Prepared primarily by scraping, pounding and washing, it is a key material in Māori traditional textiles where it is usually used in tāniko or twined weaving. ...

. A second is also decorated with a diamond pattern, the third with decorative plaiting bands alternating with bands of twill, with a check weave at base and rim; the fourth has a vertical zigzag pattern known as ''koeaea,'' which is a type of whitebait); the fifth has horizontal bands of pattern with openwork.

Exhibitions

Wirihana has exhibited, attended symposia and residencies both nationally and internationally including: *2014 ''Māori Art Market'' Wellington *2009 ''Plastic Māori''

The Dowse Art Museum The Dowse Art Museum is a municipal art gallery in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Opening in 1971 in the Lower Hutt CBD, The Dowse occupies a stand-alone building adjacent to other municipal facilities. The building was completely remodelled in 2 ...

*2006 Artist Residency Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington *1998 Kanak Cultural Centre, Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre Nouméa *1992 ''Seven Māori Weavers'' Christchurch *1991 ''Ngā Kaupapa Here Aho'' Te Taumata, Auckland *1991 ''Te Moemoea nō Iotefa'' Sarjent Gallery, Whanagnui *1990 ''Ngā wahine Toa'' Rotoruatamati *1990 ''Kohia Ko Taikaka Anake'' National Art Gallery Wellington

References

External links

An interview of Wirihana showing her weaving
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wirihana, Christina 1949 births Living people New Zealand artists New Zealand Māori weavers New Zealand Māori artists Te Arawa people Ngāti Maniapoto people Women textile artists