Derek Lardelli
Derek Lardelli is a prominent leader for Maori in the 21st century and arguably one of New Zealand’s finest and most diverse artists as a painter, carver, composer, researcher, performer, orator, graphic designer and educationalist.
Derek will display his work and show his talents along with over 200 other leading and emerging contemporary Maori artists, who have been invited to the biennial MAORI ART MARKet, held this year at Porirua City’s Te Rauparaha Arena on October 9, 10 and 11.
It will be the largest collection of contemporary Maori artwork ever assembled. More than 2000 items including paintings, jewellery, clay work, sculpture, carving, weaving, fashion, worth more than $3 million will be on sale direct from the artists and invited galleries.
Derek Lardelli is Maori – and hugely proud of his culture. His iwi (tribal affiliation) is Ngati Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngati Konohi and Ngai Te Aweawe. The 48-year-old father of two has an educational background in teaching, fine arts and classical Maori literature.
Sharing his culture through visual art; communicating its power and uniqueness, this is Derek’s passion and purpose. After his immediate whanau that is. He is first a husband, a father, a teacher, a communicator. His successes (and there have been many) he attributes to his whanau and he sees his talent as a visual artist too, as an aspect of something much bigger than himself.
The label of ‘one of the country’s foremost artists’ is not one he easily relates to – his humility is tangible.
“You don’t start or end this journey…. You are part of something that is continuous. It is important for people to understand, you are born into an ongoing cycle. You just happen to be a part of it.”
The continuity, the cyclic nature of life, he expresses through the mediums of ta moko (body art), design, sculpture, carving, graphic arts, composition – Derek composed the ‘new’ All Blacks haka – writing, painting – the list goes on.
“I can’t pick just one – they are all important. And I have a responsibility to make sure I am doing them all to the best of my ability. That means giving quality time to all of them. But the important thing is to be in touch with the pulse of the community. As a visual communicator, that is what your job is – to communicate the pulse of the people. It is through that, that the society, the people, are understood to be well.
Derek is also a principal tutor at the Toihoukura School of Maori Arts, based at Gisborne’s Tairawhiti Polytechnic.
“It is a juggling act, but I am committed to teaching. My role as a teacher continues to change as my own art, my own creativity changes. That’s all good.”
“You have to be what you do. If it is art – then be an artist. If you do, the trials and tribulations come and go. No matter what is happening artists will keep doing what they do. They don’t stop. Creativity is our tradition, and it is important that we keep creating.”
Derek was the commissioning artist for the magnificent Maui sculptures that adorn his tribal mountain, Hikurangi. In indigenous cultures there were people, such as the demi-god Maui, who are outside what is considered ‘normal’ – they were hugely important in the development of the culture. They accomplished great feats. Today our culture belongs to a contemporary people who have a responsibility to that culture, built on respecting and valuing this “Taonga tuku iho” (treasure that has been handed down).
“It’s about telling our stories from a Maori perspective. The European practise has been to write about us. Now it is time to portray ourselves. I want to be able to be who I am. I am not European and I don’t want to be European. Although I have an Italian name I do not say I am Italian. I want to say am Maori and I am proud of it. Art is one way of accomplishing this, of portraying the Maori perspective”
In 2005 the All Blacks, led by Tana Umaga, first performed ‘Kapa o Pango’, the haka Derek composed. “Haka is an anagram of kaha – which is strength. It is about channelling strong energy – that is what the haka is. It is a powerful art form and it is part of our identity”. There was some heated debate around the ‘new haka’ and what it represents – perhaps not surprising given it emerges from an often-misunderstood culture. There would always be detractors. Derek viewed this as an opportunity for debate and education and says once people understood on a cultural level their apprehensions were dispelled.
The All Blacks were doing very well with the new haka. It was about harnessing and driving the energy and became such a powerful medium that ‘they’ tried to stop it. The other teams in the world thought it was providing the All Blacks with an edge. Well it was! Their reaction and the part the media played in misrepresenting the haka is the reality at the top end of sport nowadays”.
“The haka is always debated because it is not understood in the public arena. In our culture it is accepted and respected, but for the wider community, it is hard for some to see it for what it is”.
Derek sees a major aspect of his role is to share information. Whether it be with Air New Zealand in the designing the motif for its new corporate branding, or the All Blacks haka; it is about awakening people to the meaning and the origins of the symbolism. For Air New Zealand’s rebranding, Derek conveyed the importance of the company having a sense of ‘where it came from’ and that it was, ‘about the people.’
The Maori culture, says Derek, is ‘all inclusive’.
“That is what keeps a culture alive. It is exclusivity that kills a culture. Sharing is part of all indigenous cultures. We do it all the time. The global push has allowed us the opportunity to share with similar cultures’ minds and hearts. It has allowed us to make this connection back to the cultures and people of Hawaiki, our spiritual homeland.”
Inclusivity is part too, of the revival in ta moko, or traditional tattoo. Derek is considered one of this country’s finest ta moko artists and he has been prominent in explaining its revival and spiritual significance to the public here and overseas.
“It was the right time for a revival and we are part of that, we just happen to be here to help it at this time. Moko is part of a renaissance across the board. Now moko has developed into one of the biggest and most recognizable indigenous marks in the world.”
“We have a responsibility to look after it, in terms of the intellectual and cultural property of this art form. There is huge fascination with moko in the world. For Maori, moko is a direct genealogical link back to our people and their stories. Moko has also been made available to others in the form of Kiri-tuhi. Non-Maori who want moko type patterns can have Kiri-tuhi but obviously the designs won’t tell the stories of an indigenous whakapapa.
He is excited by the tremendous creative energy he sees ‘bubbling up’ around him – in his people, the carvers, ta moko and other traditional and contemporary artists. These emerging artists are creating the icons of Maori art; they come from the same genealogical pool.
“Whakapapa (lineage) is about creating layers and patterns. It’s about looking further than just your self. The landscape changes, you go from one tribal group to another. I don’t believe in ‘direct lines’. There are many branches on a tree. And it’s about knowing what part of the tree you are from. We are all part of that human fabric which we call muka tangata.
The passion that drives his own artistic expression and his teaching has brought Derek to a place of prominence in this country and internationally. He received a New Zealand Arts Foundation laureate award in 2004, was the inaugural Gallipoli artist-in-residence in 2006, and was awarded the honour of Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2008. He also completed a Master of Fine Arts Degree (with Distinction), achieving the highest mark ever awarded at this level by Canterbury University’s Elam Art School.
The artist-in-residence programme, based near the Gallipoli Peninsula, aimed to create a ‘volume of new art around the Gallipoli campaign’. Derek, his wife Rose and their two children spent four months in Turkey. It was to be four months that changed them, as a family.
“For an artist – it was really hard. I wrote a lot of songs and poems and created images around death and war. What happened at Gallipoli was a disaster. We were led to the slaughter. Leadership on our side was very poor and I felt so angry at the sheer waste of life, and yet in amongst that living hell there were acts of absolute heroism and bravery on both sides that left you in tears. The power of compassion and the human spirit really caught us.”
A powerful memory he shares, is a swaying field of sunflowers in the breeze; they looked to him, like armies. Laying their heads towards one another – as if they were human, as if they were talking…
“I was told, yes, that was where the soldiers are. That is why we plant them. The sunflowers when they die they go back into the land. The sunflowers are their tohu – their sign. They are very powerful symbols of what happens in war. Many of the dead were just kids looking for adventure - strong and brave, but that eroded away to fear and tears, crying for their mums and a grave in foreign soil.
The pain of discovering a new perspective on an old story, a deep and abiding respect for an ancient civilisation and its people, merged to became the powerful art of life, death, continuity; “After four months, the art work that came out of it was ….very strong.”
“Art is also about anything that is cutting edge. That’s what makes being an artist a dangerous job at times.
“But you have to go there. There is some powerful stuff you can come out with.
“It’s about getting people to look at something….. Even if people think ‘it’s ugly’, that’s a reaction – that’s a starting point. As artists we are people who put our hearts out there in the public arena – to be ridiculed and criticised at times. Many people are too scared to do that. But that’s the whole point of it! That’s what art galleries do! They get people talking and the conversation of art goes far beyond the boundaries of the canvas.
Whether home or off-shore, Derek is unafraid to speak out – whether in words or images, to share his insights and to wake the rest of us up to what it is to be human, what it means to be Maori; to shake us out of our apathy and separateness. Ultimately, we are all making the same journey, one, he reminds us, with no beginning and no end. We are learning about ourselves and each other.
“People talk about potential. But potential is no good unless you harness it; unless you do something with it. Today, a lot are beginning to realize that you can be potentially brilliant, but realistically flawed…unless you do something about it! It’s really important to teach our young people this.
“You have to kindle that spirit, or it will go out. The sad thing is, when it does, some don’t even know it has gone out.
“You need to stoke the fire, keep the fire burning. To Maori this is ahi ka.
“The strongest icon for us is our marae, it is where our home fire is, our ahi ka…And we must at all times remind ourselves of its importance as our true home.”
Written by Freelance writer Linda George for immediate use, Tel 027 251 2622, (04) 976 9927. Supplied by Toi Maori on behalf of the MAORI ART MARKet or contact Iain Morrison Tel 04 473 7980 or 021 688 668.