LISA REIHANA

Viaduct Harbour presents Te Wheke-a-Muturangi by Lisa Reihana for Aotearoa Art Fair

Artist: Lisa Reihana‍
Title: Te Wheke-a-Muturangi
Year: 2022
Location: Viaduct Harbour Marina, view from Te Mata Topaki
Size: 15 metre diameter
Supported by: Auckland Council via the city centre targeted rate.
Commissioned for the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of Arts, 2022.

‍Lisa Reihana is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice spans film, sculpture, costume and body adornment, text, and photography. Since the 1990s, she has significantly influenced the development of contemporary art and contemporary Māori art in Aotearoa New Zealand. A Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, she has received numerous awards and fellowships throughout her distinguished career.

Part of Reihana’s Kura Moana series, this striking 15-meter wide floating cephalopoda draws from Māori mythology. It depicts the story of the giant female octopus, Te-Wheke-a-Muturangi, who is pursued and ultimately slain by the legendary  Polynesian navigator Kupe. Traditions about him appear amongst the people of Northland, Ngāti Kahungunu, Tainui, Whanganui-Taranaki, Rangitāne, and the South Island, where he is famous for naming many places in Aotearoa.Te-Wheke-a-Muturangi, her scale reflecting the mythical octopus as recorded in oral traditions, now sits majestically amidst watery currents, dancing on the tides and animated by sea breezes. She is hand-painted in maze-like lines inspired by Reihana’s contemporary Māori weaving patterns, the vivid reds symbolising the blood spilled when the creature was defeated. This magnificent installation references Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, the great ocean, and celebrates the role the ocean plays between Aotearoa and its Pacific neighbours.

Represented by Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert.

‍Pūrākau | Augmented Reality

The magical presence of Te-Wheke-a Muturangi is all around you. Scan the QR code on-site to see an augmented reality (AR) Pūrākau where Te-Wheke-a Muturangi hovers above Waitematā Harbour and speaks about being a goddess while taking selfies.