Lisa Reihana
Lisa Reihana | Ngāpuhi: Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Tu | New Zealand b.1964 | Marakihau (from Digital Marae 2001–ongoing) 2001 | Colour cibachrome photograph mounted on aluminium, ed. 2/5 | 200 x 100cm | Purchased 2002 | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery
Lisa Reihana uses a range of digital and moving-image techniques in her art making. For A Maori dragon story, Reihana works with stop-motion animation to present the Waitaha story of Taniwha (spirit or monster) from Ohikuparuparu in the South Island of New Zealand.
This story plays out traditional narratives about pain, revenge, passion and greed as the heroine Hine Ao attracts the eye of Chief Turakipo. When she rejects him, she is cursed and dies. The revenge sought from the Chief’s council by her grief-stricken father, is enacted as Hine Ao returns in the form of a beautiful giant eel that is subsequently caught and eaten by Chief Turakipo’s people. Drawn to the sound of wailing, Chief Turakipo discovers the grisly remains of his dead tribe alongside the skeleton of the eel.
Devoid of spoken narrative, the work is accompanied by a dramatic soundtrack created by Reihana and sound engineer Angus McNaughton. The soundtrack imbues the work with different emotional registers, including the drama of the Chief’s council and the haunting sounds of Māori instruments, such as the nose flute played by Milton Hohaia.
Lisa Reihana uses a combination of traditional and contemporary media to explore emotive and contentious areas of customary lore and builds a collective vision for contemporary New Zealand from Māori foundations.
