B.

Working in the fields of cinema and performance, Lisa Reihana seeks to create a space for indigenous voices within her work, particularly for Māori and Pasifika women. This still image is taken from her 64-minute panoramic video work in Pursuit of Venus [infected], made in response to a scenic wallpaper from the early 1800s titled Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique. Reihana filmed her own tableau of Oceanic peoples’ encounters with Captain Cook and his men. The scene is complex and challenges colonial perspectives and historic interpretations, particularly around how women were used as objects for trade. “I hope that as a viewer you’re always trying to work out what exactly is going on in this work, just like these historical figures would have”, says Reihana. “When you suddenly meet new people and new things are happening, you have to decipher and make sense of the world yourself. There will always be lots of misunderstanding – layers of misunderstanding – and that is what is going to happen for viewers too.”

(Te Wheke: Pathways Across Oceania, 2021)