The Fourth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

LISA REIHANA AND THE PASIFIKA DIVAS GREED, LUST, BETRAYAL AND RIVERS OF FIRE Swivelling hula skirts and oiled bodies aside, performance has persisted as a form of communication throughout the Pacific region and continues to evolve in a very distinctive manner. Whether strutting the stage in hibiscus-patterned frocks or coordinating complex performances for her multimedia works, Lisa Reihana has been fli rting hard with performance for some time. Her most recent work, Digital Marae 2001 , continues this interest by presenting a dramatically charged space built through a series of photographs and video in w hich the unfolding narrative of Maori mythology is powerfully evoked. Throughout her practice this young Maori artist has engaged and constructed her own virtual marae (meeting place). 1 In this space, Reihana mediates her immediate environment, smoothly blending cultural knowledge and being with a fast– paced urban lifestyle. In the virtual field all is possible; within it, technology and lore complement each other, and Tretchikov's belles and poupou (carved figures) can merge to create new representations. 2 The aesthetic combinations are limitless, drawn from a globalised environment in which information and images are bountiful. The marae is a sanctuary, a place where people come together to articulate their commonalities and debate their differences. This space is highly structured and functions through complex protocols. Within it, the wharenui (the physical structure) represents the ancestor's body - the central roof beam its backbone, and the rafters its ribs.The poupou that line the sides of the wharenui are individual ancestors. These different architectural components disseminate fundamental genealogical knowledge and create an intense presence from which those affiliated to the meeting house can gain a profound sense of belonging. By creating a virtual marae, Reihana encompasses these qualities and dynamics without being constrained by geographical location and possibly daunting codes of behaviour. Four life-size females enveloped in dark turmoiled skies constitute an imposing presence in the Digital Marae. These are the poupou of Reihana's marae, the 'synthesised future vision of whakairo [carving]'. 3 Each encapsulates a Maori tribal story. Mahuika is tricked by her grandson Maui into giving him all the fire she possesses in her nails. Living in the underworld, her full skirt scorches and steams with hot lava and earth. In the wharenui she would be placed at the far end; she is the anchor point and symbolises tradition. Hinewai, the youngest in the group, is near her and represents familial ties in her care for both Mahuika and her sister, Hinepukohurangi. At daybreak, Hinewai beckons her sister to leave the worldly realm of desire to which she succumbs nightly with the mortal, Uenuku. 88 APT2002 Let there be light from Digital Marae 2001 Still from 3.33 min. colour DVD, sound Collection: The artist Hinewai's portrait breaks the conventions of the layout in the wharenui by not being presented as a full figure and by being moved from her rightful place near the entrance, which symbolises youth and light. Similarly, Reihana innovates by representing Hinepukohurangi, who had never been visualised in a carved form before. A potentially dangerous rupturing of Maori protocol, the figure was nevertheless well received by the Maori community. 4 Even virtuality is not always a safe zone from which to engage w ith traditions if these are contravened. Digital Marae and the animation A Maori dragon story 1995 work w ith the emotive and contentious area of customary lore. Both are reinterpretations of an important oral history rendered palatable and real through its contemporary presentation. Reihana is effectively communicating and adding to a collective Aotearoa New Zealand consciousness. The themes evoked, as extravagant as they might be - w ith gods, demons and fantastical creatures - play out didactic narratives that image common ideas such as pain and the ravages of revenge, or passion and the lure of greed and lust. Reihana reworks lore; she adds, cuts and emphasises particular versions, actively reconstructing history and the messages surrounding it. W ith the Kurangaituku image from Digital Marae, Reihana is 'inspired by Ngahuia Te Awekotuku's retelling of the story, where, rather than being impressed by Hatupatu's escapades, we understand her feeling of being trespassed against and the desecration she felt'. 5 In this version, Hatupatu covets Kurangaituku's beautiful feather cloak, and he kills all her exotic creatures in order to steal it. Reihana represents Kurangaituku in two emotional states - sadness at seeing all her birds dead, and frustration from the attempt to rip Hatupatu from his hiding place behind a rock face. Lisa Reihana Aotearoa New Zealand b.1964 Hinewai from Digital Marae (detail) 2001 Colour photograph mounted on aluminium 120 x 140cm Collection:The artist