Lisa Reihana

Kurangaituku

Kurangaituku by Lisa Reihana

Artwork Detail

He tipua a Kurangaituku, nāna a Hatupatu i mauhere i roto i tōna ana. Ka pūrere atu a Hatupatu i te ana, arā, i te here a Kurangaituku, nāna hoki te tipua rā i ārahi ki ngā ngāwhā o te Whakarewarewa, e pātata ana ki te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe. Kei te huri kē a Lisa Reihana mai i te whakaatu i a Kurangaituku hei poupou, arā, hei taonga tuku iho, ki te hoahoa kē e whakaatu ana i a ia hei tipua e puta mai ana i te whēuriuri, ko ōna matihao e whātoro ana, ānō nei he taniwha kiriata pohewa, nō te kēmu ataata rānei.

Kurangaituku is a mythical bird-woman who captured the human Hatupatu, imprisoning him in her cave. Hatupatu escaped from the cave – and Kurangaituku’s clutches – and led the bird-woman into the hot springs at Whakarewarewa, near Lake Rotorua. Rather than depict Kurangaituku in the traditional form of poupou (carved panels in marae/communal spaces), Lisa Reihana reimagines her emerging from the darkness with her long talons outstretched, like a figure from a fantasy film or a video game.

Title
Kurangaituku
Artist/creator
Lisa Reihana
Production date
2001
Medium
colour photographic print on aluminium
Dimensions
1990 x 990 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 2002
Accession no
2002/3/2
Copyright
Copying restrictions apply
Department
New Zealand Art
Display status
Not on display

To find out which artworks are available for print requests and reproduction please enquire here. This service only applies to select artworks in the Gallery's collection.