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Mahuika, from the "Digital Marae" series

Lisa Reihana

Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

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.
MEDIUM Digital photograph
DATES 2001
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)  (show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER 2007.27
CREDIT LINE Gift of the artist
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Lisa Reihana (New Zealander, born 1964). Mahuika, from the "Digital Marae" series, 2001. Digital photograph, 79 × 46 in. (200.7 × 116.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the artist, 2007.27. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Image courtesy of ARTPROJECTS, 2007.27_MAHUIKA_Digital Marae_Lisa_Reihana.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 2007.27_MAHUIKA_Digital Marae_Lisa_Reihana.jpg. Image courtesy of ARTPROJECTS
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RIGHTS STATEMENT © Lisa Reihana
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