Collection
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Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

Mahuika, from the "Digital Marae" series

Lisa Reihana

Courtesy of ARTPROJECTS

Object Label

For many Polynesian societies, a marae (also called malae, mala ‘e, or me ‘ae) is a sacred communal space serving both social and religious purposes. Lisa Reihana, a Māori artist of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Tū descent based in Auckland, New Zealand, uses photography, sound, and video to create a “digital marae” populated with ancestral figures. The deity depicted in this work is Mahuika, the goddess from whom the hero Māui obtained the secret of making fire. Typically the domain of male carvers and artists, Reihana’s conception of this deity establishes intergenerational and cross-cultural connections between contemporary portraiture and traditional Māori folklore.

Caption

Lisa Reihana (New Zealander, born 1964). Mahuika, from the "Digital Marae" series, 2001. Digital photograph, 79 × 46 in. (200.7 × 116.8 cm) frame: 80 × 48 1/4 × 2 1/2 in. (203.2 × 122.6 × 6.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the artist, 2007.27. © Lisa Reihana. (Photo: Courtesy of ARTPROJECTS)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

Mahuika, from the "Digital Marae" series

Date

2001

Medium

Digital photograph

Classification

Photograph

Dimensions

79 × 46 in. (200.7 × 116.8 cm) frame: 80 × 48 1/4 × 2 1/2 in. (203.2 × 122.6 × 6.4 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of the artist

Accession Number

2007.27

Rights

© Lisa Reihana

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Frequent Art Questions

  • What is this?

    This photograph is the first in a series created by Lisa Reihana that depicts modernized interpretations of Maori deities. The deity here, Mahuika, is portrayed by Reihana's aunt.
    Mahuika is a fire goddess who is said to sit on a stool in the underworld. Reihana has replaced her stool with a chair designed by Marcel Breuer which she feels is ubiquitous especially in the art world. The red nail polish represents the fire that Mahuika keeps in her fingernails.

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Artists and makers

Lisa Reihana

1 work in the collection