Toi Iho

Pounamu, whale-bone and glass – the light hits each element like musical notes. As a whole, Tahi o Te Rangi personifies the Ngāti Awa legend, and through the use of modern materials and techniques, re-energises the tale.

The head of Tahi is made from orca, a whale he was known to ride. Pounamu represents the precious place this legend has in Te Ao Māori. The glass whale has rough and smooth textures to define its swirling patterns.

The forms are the work of Lewis Gardiner, an internationally sought-after carver with Ngāi Tahu connections and a Southland upbringing.

Gardiner (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāi Tahu) grew up in Mataura and connects to Ōraka Aparima Rūnanga. When he was at Gore High School, an art teacher  said something simple to him that has stuck: “You’re Māori.  You should be proud of your culture.”

Gardiner has taken up the wero and has become one of the most respected and innovative pounamu carvers of his generation.

He won the biennial Mana Pounamu award for contemporary Māori jade design three consecutive times, in 1999, 2001 and 2003.

Gardiner is careful not to waste pounamu and uses techniques to reduce the  amount of stone being turned into dust, giving meaning to the whakatauakī: Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu – Although it is small, it is treasured pounamu.

He studied Māori Craft and Design alongside fellow Ngāi Tahu artist Ross Hemera at Waiariki Institute of Technology in Rotorua. He says Hemera had a passion for Māori art and design that inspired his own focus.

“Design elements are just as important as the stone, because this is how you give back the stone its taonga status,” says Gardiner.

“The workmanship and execution has to be good or improving, not slipping into the mass-production mould. This is suited more for imported jades, not our pounamu.”

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