Māripi

    In 1994, Lewis graduated in Māori Craft and Design at the Waiariki Institute of Technology in Rotorua. During his final year, he was introduced to the valuable medium of Pounamu. Eventually dedicating himself to studying the Hei Tiki form and taking inspiration from Tiki seen in whare whakairo and the innovations of contemporary Māori artists. In 1995, he became a full-time Pounamu and bone carver specializing in traditional Māori imagery. Since then he has developed his own style and helped shape other carvers’ perspectives on the use of Pounamu. In 2009, Lewis was appointed as the inaugural Tumu Whakairo of Te Takapū O Rotowhio at the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute with his focus on creating pathways for his students. Lewis vacated this role in 2013 to continue his own artistic development, seeking to form a co-operative with fellow practitioners, many of these practitioners are his former students who are currently working as a collective known as ‘Rākai Jade’.Kaupapa:Lewis has continued to guide ‘Rakai Jade’ for over 20 years, establishing strong relationships and a highly reputable status throughout Aotearoa hence their consistent demand. As a part of the ’Rakai Jade’ collective their aim is to create Taonga that transcends generations, their works are prided on artistic excellence, and elevated by traditional Māori ideals through contemporary application. Tourism has seen the mass production of jade and bone products, oversimplifying Taonga to “biscuit designs” a distortion of traditional symbols that have been over-generalised, replicated and unethically sourced. Lewis challenges this status quo in his practice, his designs are informed by in-depth research, and guided by matauranga Māori to ensure that the traditional reverence of traditional bone and stone runs parallel with its modern material culture. In acknowledgment of his work Lewis was awarded the 2019 Manaaki Tāonga Award by Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust for his demonstrated excellence in the continuity of Tāonga tuku iho (ancestral treasures). Lewis is also a registered Te Ara Whakarei artist of Toi Iho ™, ensuring the immaculate quality and authenticity of his works are upheld at a global standard.