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Matekino Lawless

Summary

Matekino Lawless ONZM QSM (née Onehi; born February 1928)[1] is a New Zealand master weaver from Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Whawhakia iwi. Her work is held at marae, in private collections, in the collections of New Zealand and international museums, and at the Headquarters of the United Nations.

Matekino Lawless
ONZM QSM
Born
Matekino Onehi

February 1928 (1928-02) (age 96)
Te Awamutu, New Zealand
Known forWeaving
SpouseJack Lawless
AwardsKingi Ihaka Te Waka Toi Award, 2008
Te Tohu mō Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu Award, 2015

Biography edit

Lawless was born in Te Awamutu in 1928 to Kotahi and Ena Onehi and is of Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Whawhakia descent.[2][3] She was raised on a farm in Parawera and began learning to weave while staying with her kuia, Kataraina Emery.[3] While staying with Emery, Lawless observed and learned from her, as well as from her kuia (female elders) of the Ngāti Pikiao tribe.[3] Lawless was also influenced by Etera Foley, a Ngāti Pikaio weaver.[3][4]

When a teenager Lawless moved to Rotorua and subsequently met her husband Jack.[3] They would go on to have five children including Christina Wirihana, also a notable New Zealand weaver and with whom Lawless frequently collaborates.[3][5]

Work and recognition edit

 
Matekino Lawless weaving

Lawless is a master weaver who also spends time passing on her skills and encouraging the preservation of raranga and traditional weaving in New Zealand.[6][7] She collaborated with her daughter Christina Wirihana in 1996 to help create the interior of Ihenga, the meeting house at the Tangatarua marae on the Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology campus.[5]

Lawless is part of the Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa (National Collective of Māori Weavers in New Zealand).[8] In 2006 Lawless gained formal acknowledgement of her master weaver status in Aotearoa by being appointed to Te Kāhui Whiritoi by the management committee of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu and the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia.[9] She was one of the founding members of this group.[7] Te Kāhui Whiritoi meets biennially with the management committee of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu at the National Weavers Hui to pass on their expertise.[9]

In 2014 this collective of weavers exhibited 49 tukutuku panels in Kāhui Raranga: The Art of Tukutuku at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[10] These panels were installed in 2015 at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York.[8]

Lawless is also a member of Taumata Mareikura, a reference group of seven of New Zealand's most accomplished weavers.[11] This group offers expert advice and cultural knowledge to the Auckland War Memorial Museum on collections and taonga held by the Museum.[11]

Lawless is a lifelong member of the Māori Women’s Welfare League.[3] She is also involved in the Playcentre movement.[3]

Whatu Manawa: Celebrating the Weaving of Matekino Lawless edit

Lawless held her first solo exhibition at the Tauranga Art Gallery between 15 December 2018 and 10 March 2019.[12] The catalogue of this exhibit was reviewed by Leanne Amaki in 2019 and she expressed the opinion that "Matekino Lawless (Tainui) is an artistic genius".[12]

Honours and awards edit

In the 1999 New Year Honours, Lawless was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for public services.[13] In 2008 Creative New Zealand recognised Lawless' lifetime contribution by awarding her the Kingi Ihaka Te Waka Toi Award.[14] Creative New Zealand subsequently awarded Lawless the Supreme Te Waka Toi award in 2015.[15][16] In 2018 the Auckland War Memorial Museum awarded Lawless with the Auckland War Memorial Museum medal and made her a Fellow of the Museum.[17]

In the 2023 King's Birthday and Coronation Honours, Lawless was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori art.[18]

Exhibitions edit

Lawless has exhibited both nationally and internationally including:

References edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matekino Lawless.
  1. ^ "Whatu Manawa: Celebrating the Weaving of Matekino Lawless".
  2. ^ "Honouring contributions to Māori arts with 2015 Te Waka Toi Awards". www.creativenz.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Makiha, Kelly (15 December 2015). "Beloved weaver gets supreme award". Rotorua Daily Post. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  4. ^ Michael Hall (16 December 2015). Matekino Lawless – Supreme winner, Te Waka Toi Awards 2015 (Video). New Zealand: Creative New Zealand. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  5. ^ a b Broker, David. "Kahurangi: Reflecting a journey of weaving. Matekino Lawless and Christina Hurihia Wirihana". Eyeline: Contemporary Visual Arts. 41: 46–47.
  6. ^ "New exhibition at Te Puia Ahua Gallery celebrates weaving". Maori Television. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  7. ^ a b c "Whatu Manawa: Celebrating the Weaving of Matekino Lawless". www.thebigidea.nz. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  8. ^ a b AbigailH (1 July 2013). "The Morning Bulletin". www.themorningbulletin.com.au. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Kahui Whiritoi". Toi Maori Aotearoa – Maori Arts New Zealand. 2020. Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Kāhui Rāranga The Art of Tukutuku: New Zealand's Heart at the United Nations". www.blog.tepapa.govt.nz. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  11. ^ a b Edmunds, Na Bethany Matai; Spedding, L.A. (2018). "Untangling the threads". www.aucklandmuseum.com. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  12. ^ a b Leanne Tamaki (2019). "Whatu Manawa: Celebrating the weaving of Matekino Lawless". ATE Journal of Māori Art. 1: 74–79. ISSN 2624-4446. Wikidata Q104523556.
  13. ^ "New Year honours list 1999". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 1998. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Ngā Tohu ā Tā Kingi Ihaka | Sir Kingi Ihaka Awards recognising lifetime contribution" (PDF). www.creativenz.govt.nz. 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Te Waka Toi Awards". www.creativenz.govt.nz. 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  16. ^ Waka Toi: Weaver Matekino Lawless claims supreme award (Video) (in Māori). New Zealand: Te Karere TVNZ. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  17. ^ a b Kelway, Sam (7 March 2019). "Master Māori weaver debut's first solo exhibition at tender age of 91". TVNZ. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  18. ^ "The King's Birthday and Coronation honours list 2023". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Eternal Thread". www.burkemuseum.org. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  20. ^ "Past Exhibitions". Rotorua Museum. Retrieved 29 January 2019.

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