Artist Lisa Reihana Challenges Historical Narrative in Epic Installation at MOA

ByJohn Goodman June 7, 2024February 25, 2025

Lisa Reihana video still “in Pursuit of Venus [infected]” — Artist Lisa Reihana represented New Zealand in 2017 at the Venice Biennale with her work “in Pursuit of Venus [infected].” The epic installation opens in a new exhibition at UBC’s Museum of Anthropology on June 13 at 5 p.m. Image: Video Still courtesy artist and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki / MOA

The Western Canadian premiere of New Zealand/Māori Lisa Reihana’s epic work, “in Pursuit of Venus [infected],” opens at UBC’s Museum of Anthropology on June 13. The conceptual piece uses Neoclassical scenic wallpaper “Les sauvages de la mer Pacifique,” designed by French artist Jean-Gabriel Charvet and based on the accounts of the first European visits to Pacific Ocean cultures on Captain James Cook’s voyages in the 18th century. Cook used the Transit of Venus through the night sky to guide his ships through the Pacific. Reihanna’s work restages the events in both real and imagined contexts as an Indigenous counternarrative to the European sources. The exhibition marks the reopening of MOA on June 13 at 5 p.m.after an 18-month closure to complete seismic upgrades to the Great Hall. A second exhibition, the world premiere of “To Be Seen, To Be Heard: First Nations in Public Spaces, 1900–1965,” is opening on the same date.

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John Goodman

John Goodman finds the creative energy of journalism constantly inspiring. He's covered the Vancouver arts scene as a reporter, editor, and designer for many years. As a longtime North Shore resident he's always keen to explore all that Metro Vancouver has to offer.