Linda LEE (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Huia, Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa), a mixed-race artist of Māori heritage and a founding member of Shared Lines draws on her indigenous roots, knowledge, and self-expression of Māori culture to bring forward a fresh cultural perspective into both project management and artwork. By means of non-verbal expression, she aims to reconstruct and discuss elements of shared indigenous narratives, cultural identity and history.

Additionally, Linda discovered she was whāngai (adopted) at age 19, which led her to explore identity, whakapapa through exhibition, installation, photography, performance, and bookform. She runs Ōtari Raranga - Māori Weaving, co-runs Urban Dream Brokerage, and has recently begun her studies in whakairo - Māori Woodcarving at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. 

 

PART 1: Visiting Ainu Indigenous people of Hokkaido Japan and taking part in Chipsanke Festival 22-23 August, meeting with artists from she met during the Ainumonsir and Shared Lines, Ramat Kor Kur project 2024 to learn more about cultural narratives and kamuy.

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PART 2: Residency stay at Aomori Contemporary Art Centre meeting artists and viewing public artworks.

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PART 3: During her stay at Honda Artist Studio by birdo flugas in Shiogama, Japan, after visiting Tsunami Stone Shrines and spending time in Urato Islands, with Birdo, LEE will undertake two projects:

1 - As a researcher, she focuses on taniwha as a starting point for this work. Taniwha, known as supernatural Māori mythical water creatures - kaitiaki, that can either protect, or destroy tangata, whānau, hapū and iwi - communities. She plans to do field work in understanding various aspects of Japanese earthquake mythology, such as the Namazu catfish and the beliefs related to the Kaname-Ishi or sacred stone. Together with ISHIKURA Toshiaki from the Akita University of Art, there is a planned talk to introduce and discuss both Māori and Japanese cultural perspectives regarding "earthquakes, tsunami" as well as "elemental gods and local community beliefs." These activities serve as a goal of sparking curiosity and interest, as well open up dialogue between both Maori and Miyagi’s cultures, questioning indigenous and contemporary methods of resource and disaster management with the general public.

2 - As an artist, she will showcase installations from her research alongside raranga, whakairo, traditional arts of Māori weaving and carving, to pass down personal stories, tribal narratives, and ancestral teachings that are connected to her heritage and address indigenous approaches to climate change. She will exhibit raranga works that demonstrate these aspects and show how this kind of self-expression can be used as a method of passing on traditions and Pūrākau important lessons for future generations. In addition to exhibiting, she will also do various scheduled and drop-in workshops both in relation to introducing and fostering understanding of Māori culture to the Miyagi and greater Tohoku regional community, as well as to reaffirm the connection between local people and the land. Artist Yasuaki Igarashi who was artist in residence for Shared Lines: Kaikoura will visit Linda to learn netmaking using muka for his Sora-ami. There will also be networking opportunities at these venues for future Shared Lines Project endeavours.