Lisa Reihana

Lisa Reihana (born 1964) is a New Zealand artist of Maori (Ngāpuhi, Ngati Hine, Ngāi Tu) descent who grew up in Blockhouse Bay, Auckland, New Zealand.

Reihana began attending Elam School of Fine Arts at Auckland University in 1983, graduating in 1987 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In 2014 she graduated with a Masters in Design from Unitec Institute of Technology Department of Design and Contemporary Arts.

In 1991 Reihana was included in Pleasures and Dangers: Artists of the '90s, a publication and documentary of the same name produced by the Moet & Chandon New Zealand Art Foundation showcasing "the work of eight exciting younger artists, most just now making their mark nationally and overseas".

In 2006 Reihana was one of fifteen New Zealand artists, most of Māori and Pacific Island descent, who were invited to take part in the Pasifika Styles exhibition by making site-specific works throughout the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge that responded to objects in the museum's collection. For her work He Tautoko (2006) Reihana responded to the museum's Oceania collection, making an iwi connection by selecting a Ngāpuhi tekoteko (carved gable figure) to work with.

Using footage of collection items filmed on an earlier visit to the museum, Reihana made a video of 'multi-layered images and animated tukutuku patterns' that she played on a screen mounted behind the teketeko. Next to the cabinet holding the tekoteko three handsets made audio recordings available for visitors to listen to: the tracks included a recording of songs sung by the Manukau Institute of Technology's Māori choir, the sound of carver Lyonel Grant chiselling a pattern similar to that found on the tekoteko, and recordings of voices reading information about the tekoteko's provenance. A pair of 1960s headphones were positioned on the tekoteko's head. Underneath the cabinet holding the tekoteko Reihana placed another work, fluffy fings, as a playful counterpoint, a collection of 'furry and feathery horn works with titles such as thingymybobs and plush tusks.' Reihana wrote of this display 'The colourful nature of this work appeals to adults and children alike. So that parents could spend more time with he tautoko, fluffy fings was placed at a child's eye level.'

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