Lisa Marie Reihana (born 1964) is a New Zealand artist. Her video work, ''In Pursuit of Venus nfected' (2015), which examines early encounters between Polynesians and European explorers, was featured at the 2017

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

Early life

Reihana grew up in

Blockhouse Bay Blockhouse Bay is a residential suburb in the south west of Auckland, in New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the northern coast of the Manukau Harbour, and is also close to the administrative boundary that existed between Auckland Cit ...

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 ...

. She is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

(

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

Ngāti Hine Ngāti Hine is an iwi with a rohe in Northland, New Zealand. It is part of the wider Ngāpuhi iwi. Its rohe (tribal area) covers the areas of Waiomio, Kawakawa, Taumarere, Moerewa, Ruapekapeka, Motatau, Waimahae, Towai, Akeramaa, Pakara ...

, Ngāi Tūteauru) descent.

Education

Reihana began attending

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. Students study degrees in fine art with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The schoo ...

Auckland University The University of Auckland is a public university, public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest, most comprehensive and highest-ranked university in New Zealand and consistently places among the top 100 universit ...

in 1983, graduating in 1987 with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

. She graduated with a masters in design from

Unitec Institute of Technology Unitec Institute of Technology (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka) is the largest institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. 16,844 students study programmes from certificate to postgraduate degree level (levels 1 to 9) across a range of ...

Department of Design and Contemporary Arts in 2014.

Career

In 1991, Reihana was included in ''Pleasures and Dangers: Artists of the '90s'', a publication and documentary of the same name produced by the Moet & Chandon New Zealand Art Foundation showcasing "the work of eight exciting younger artists, most just now making their mark nationally and overseas". In 2006, Reihana was one of fifteen New Zealand artists, most of Māori and Pacific Island descent, who were invited to take part in the ''Pasifika Styles'' exhibition by making site-specific works throughout the

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, also known as MAA, at the University of Cambridge houses the university's collections of local antiquities, together with archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from around the world. The museum ...

that responded to objects in the museum's collection. For her work ''He Tautoko'' (2006) Reihana responded to the museum's Oceania collection, making an

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

connection by selecting a Ngāpuhi tekoteko (carved gable figure) to work with. Using footage of collection items filmed on an earlier visit to the museum, Reihana made a video of "multi-layered images and animated

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 ...

patterns" that she played on a screen mounted behind the teketeko. Next to the cabinet holding the tekoteko three handsets made audio recordings available for visitors to listen to: the tracks included a recording of songs sung by the

Manukau Institute of Technology Established in 1970, Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) ( mi, Te Whare Takiura o Manukau) is a large Category One institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. Category One is the highest possible educational rating as evaluated by the ...

's Māori choir, the sound of carver Lyonel Grant chiselling a pattern similar to that found on the tekoteko, and recordings of voices reading information about the tekoteko's

provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

. A pair of 1960s headphones were positioned on the tekoteko's head. Underneath the cabinet holding the tekoteko Reihana placed another work, ''fluffy fings'', as a playful counterpoint, a collection of "furry and feathery horn works with titles such as ''thingymybobs'' and ''plush tusks''." Reihana wrote of this display "The colourful nature of this work appeals to adults and children alike. So that parents could spend more time with ''he tautoko'', ''fluffy fings'' was placed at a child's eye level." Ngā Kaikanikani ō te Rangi 01

Art historian Peter Brunt observes of Reihana's work in ''Pasifika Styles'':

Reihana's work exemplifies two preoccupations of contemporary Pacific art. One is the desire to re-examine colonial history, to excavate, remember and re-present countless micro-histories and counter-memories in formally experimental ways. The second is the desire to draw inspiration from the 'life-worlds' of cultural communities in the present.

In 2008 Reihana completed a major commission for the

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 ...

. Installed along Te Ara a Hine (one of the two entrances to the marae in the museum) the work, ('From love, comes love'), was made up of seven components, including video, digital photography and textile design. In the same year Reihana was one of three New Zealand artists selected for the Liverpool Biennale. In 2014 Reihana received an Arts Laureate Award from the

Arts Foundation of New Zealand 'The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The concept ...

. In March 2016 Reihana was named as a nominee in the biennial

Walters Prize The Walters Prize is New Zealand's largest contemporary art prize. Held biennially since 2002, the prize aims to 'make contemporary art a more widely recognised and debated feature of cultural life'. The prize is named in honour of New Zealand ab ...

for her work ''in Pursuit of Venus nfected'' Lisa Reihana was the 2022 Artist in Focus at the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts where she curated a programme of work.

''In Pursuit of Venus nfected'

Reihana's major multi-channel video work ''In Pursuit of Venus nfected' (2015) went on display at the

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

in May 2015. Six years in the making, the work is based on a large 19th-century scenic wallpaper, ''Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique'', created by French firm Joseph Dufour et Cie which depicts a romanticised view of the landscapes and people of the Pacific. Using the landscape forms of the wallpaper as a backdrop, Reihana added live action scenes recorded in front of green screens, showing interactions between Europeans and Polynesians. Reihana worked with theatre director Rachel House, actors and students from the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts to create this 32-minute film installation. Reihana's script re-examines the first encounters between Polynesians and Europeans with scenes that depict the intricacies of cultural identity and colonisation. Instead of Dufour's romanticised depictions of Europeans interacting with native people, Reihana shows the realities of these interactions, including scenes of violence and exchanges of goods for sexual favours. In a review of the work, John Hurell writes:

In this eagerly anticipated, but not hyped up, narrative packed panorama by Lisa Reihana (it is as good as the advance publicity claimed), its loop of thirty-two minutes duration holds its audience enthralled, being the very best kind of spectacle. Not only is this seamlessly blended array of five video projections sensual - with its sweeping landscape, figure groupings, body movement, leafy textures and dramatic music - but it is thoroughly researched, being packed with much detailed historical information.

An earlier version of the work, ''Pursuit of Venus'', was a finalist in the

Singapore Art Museum The Singapore Art Museum (Abbreviation: SAM) is an art museum is located in the Downtown Core district of Singapore. It is the first fully dedicated contemporary visual arts museum in Singapore with one of the world’s most important public co ...

's Signature Art Prize in 2014. The exhibition was the most-visited solo exhibition by a New Zealand artist at the Auckland Art Gallery since 1997, with 49,000 visitors. A version of the work was shown at the 12th Festival of Pacific Arts in Guam in 2016, and the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

from June to September 2016. In 2022 ''In Pursuit of Venus nfected' was part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts from Friday 15 October – Sunday 31 July at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Venice Biennale 2017

Reihana represented New Zealand at the 2017

, where she showed an updated version of ''In Pursuit of Venus nfected' and a new suite of photographic works.

Exhibitions

In Pursuit of Venus, Burnie 20190310-004

* 2019-2020 ''In Pursuit of Venus'' Kumu, Tallinn, Estonia *2019 ''in Pursuit of Venus nfected' de Young Museum, San Francisco, California, USA * 2019 ''in Pursuit of Venus nfected' Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA * 2019 ''in Pursuit of Venus nfected' APPM Services Building, Burnie, Australia * 2018 '' in Pursuit of Venus nfected''Royal Academy of Art, London, England url=https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/oceania * 2015 ''in Pursuit of Venus nfected' Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia * 2015 ''in Pursuit of Venus nfected' Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2013 ''In Pursuit of Venus'' A-Space Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada * 2012 ''PELT'' Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia * 2012 ''Nga Hau e wha'' Papakura Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2010 ''Te Po o Matariki'' Corbans Estate, Bruce Mason Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand * 2008 ''Mai i te aroha, ko te aroha'' Museum of New Zealand Te Papa, Wellington, New Zealand * 2007 ''Native Portraits'' Museo Laboratoriao Arte Contemporanea, Rome, Italy * 2007 ''Digital Marae''

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is a contemporary art museum at New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The gallery receives core funding from the New Plymouth District Council. Govett-Brewster is recognised internationally for contemporary art. H ...

, New Plymouth, New Zealand * 2006 ''Tamaki of 100 Suitors ‘5-4-3-2-1 Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2006 ''Some Girls + Colour of Sin'' Snowhite Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2005 ''New Works''

Adam Art Gallery Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand * 2004 ''2004 the colour of sin'' Ramp Gallery, Hamilton, New Zealand * 2003 ''Readymade'' Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia * 2003 ''Digital Marae''

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 ...

, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

Collections

Reihana's work is represented in the collections of

, the

and the

Public artworks

Created to celebrate the life of

Ellen Melville Eliza Ellen Melville (13 May 1882 – 27 July 1946) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician. She was New Zealand's second female lawyer, and the first woman elected to a city council in New Zealand. She sat on the Auckland City Council for 33 ye ...

, the large bronze sculpture ''Justice'' adorns the wall of the

Ellen Melville Centre The Ellen Melville Centre is a community centre located in Freyberg Square in central Auckland, New Zealand. It is named after Ellen Melville, the first woman to be elected to the Auckland City Council and the second New Zealand woman to become ...

in central Auckland. The work depicts the scales of justice but tipped in favour of women.

Honours and awards

In 2015 Reihana was recognised with the Te Tohu Toi Kē award 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 ...

for "making a positive difference to ngā toi Māori". In the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, Reihana was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

for services to art. She was promoted to

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services to the arts, in the 2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours.

References

External links

Watch In ''Pursuit of Venus nfected' on Reihana's websit
here
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reihana, Lisa Living people 1964 births New Zealand contemporary artists Ngāpuhi people People from Auckland Elam Art School alumni Unitec Institute of Technology alumni Ngāti Hine people Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit