A new piece of digital artwork by ringatoi Lisa Reihana was unveiled this morning and is the largest art piece ever installed at Waipapa Taumata Rau’s city campus.
The 20-minute video installation is the first major digital work commissioned by the university and showcases six performers embodying ātua and ancestral figures.
Reihana (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngai Tūteauru, Ngāi Tūpoto) named the artwork Māramatanga, which drew on tupuna from the whare whakairo at the university’s marae, Waipapa.
“The work itself is inspired by Waipapa Taumata Rau, the marae here on Auckland University and I was really looking at the wharenui [and] our ancestral figures and the tukutuku patterns that sit behind them that are often representations of philosophies or things from the natural world.
“Each one of them I enjoy for their own qualities and their personalities. So, because there are so many different sequences in this work ,I feel like the people that pass through will probably find one or two that they’ll really resonate with.”
Inspired by the deities of Te ao Māori
Reihana spent three months creating this project and hopes Māramatanga can inspire those who visit the building.
“And to me it’s that same feeling you get when you walk inside a wharenui [and] you look for your ancestors. That’s the one that gives you that strength to stand tall.
“The works I’ve always made I want people to be able to feel the beauty and the pride, the philosophies, the concepts that have carried us [and] our ancestors. The scale of this work, it gives you that sense of awe. You know you kind of look up towards it.”
Reihana has spent years sharing her skills with the world and has returned to her alma mater with this art piece.
The performers featured are students in the university’s dance studies programme including Teuila Hughes, Yin Chi Lee, Chas Mamea, Darren Tanuie and Kalisolaite ‘Uhila.
The installation is permanently on display at Waipapa Taumata Rau in its Faculty of Arts, Education and Social work building.
