Maureen Lander - artist statement

Maureen Lander talks about her personal and artistic journey in relation to harakeke (New Zealand flax) – the plant at the heart of Māori weaving.

Discovering harakeke

For nearly 30 years, I have been on a journey of discovery, exploring the many ways in which harakeke (New Zealand flax) has been, and continues to be, used for a multitude of everyday purposes. Harakeke is also a potent medium for creative expression in language, art, and weaving.

An introduction to muka

Diggeress Te Kanawa introduced me to muka (flax fibre) in the early 1980s and gave me my first muka flax plants – of the taeore, kāhunga, and ngutunui varieties – dug from her own pā harakeke (flax plantation).

I was seduced by the beauty and magic of muka. My first public installation in 1986 – E kore koe e ngaro he kakano i ruia mai i Rangiatea in the Karanga, Karanga exhibition – featured whenu (warp threads) and aho (weft threads) that I had carefully prepared to make my first korowai. Instead, I suspended them in an ethereal cloud-like formation over a swirl of flax seed.

An ongoing journey

Since then, I have continued to use flax and muka as an important art medium, often making ‘cloaks’, ‘maro’ (skirts/kilts), and other items that transcend the scale of wearable clothing and allude to concepts, places, connections, and relationships to the specific contexts for which they are made.  

Harakeke has connected me to many wonderful people, places, and experiences. It has presented me with ongoing challenges to my research and creative skills over the years.

I still haven’t discovered all that this plant has to teach me. I have a distinct sense of knowledge being gradually revealed, with some secrets remaining hidden until the time is right and I am ready.