Mere Lodge


Mere Waihuka Lodge is a New Zealand Māori artist working in largely in sculpture, a teacher and an advocate for te reo Māori and language revitalisation efforts.

Biography

Lodge was born Mere Harrison in Ruatoria in 1944, the tenth of 13 children of Raniera Harrison and Erana Nika Horimete, and affiliates to Ngāti Porou. After gaining her School Certificate at Ngata Memorial College, she spent a year at Northland College, on the arrangement by her older sister, Kāterina Mataira, to obtain further qualifications so that she could study at Elam School of Fine Arts. In the 1960s, she was, alongside her cousin Elizabeth Ellis, one of the first Māori women to attend Elam, graduating with a Diploma in Fine Arts in 1964. During her time at Elam, she would return to Ruatoria for the holidays, where she met her future husband, Victor Lodge. Following her graduation, she taught in New Zealand and Fiji.
At Elam, particularly with the guidance of Jim Allen, Lodge developed a passion for sculpture. She has several works in bronze, including two in the permanent collection of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, and two in the permanent collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. The Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Art Educators described Lodge's art:
"Her work often features textured paint and geometric sculptural forms inspired by the whenua of her tīpuna and papakāinga. While her works do not contain specific Māori motifs or visual links, they capture the wairua of her home."

In 1975, Lodge was featured in the film Ashes. In the 1990s, she assisted Roger Blackley in an exhibition of works by C. F. Goldie at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki by tracing descendants of the portrait subjects. From 1994 to 2021, she was a member of the Haerewa Māori Advisory Board at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. In 2021, following the departure of the curator Māori, Nigel Borell, Lodge and four other members of the Haerewa Māori Advisory Board resigned their positions. Collectively, they stated in a letter to the gallery's director that: "We have valued our time guiding and supporting the curator Māori and wider gallery, ensuring it is a culturally safe place for all. However, changes over the past two years at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki have set a different vision for Māori."
As well as her art, Lodge has advocated for te reo Māori and language revitalisation efforts. In the 1980s, she worked with Tuakana Mate (Tuki) Nepe, Rawinia Penfold and Elizabeth Rata at Auckland College of Education to develop a curriculum in te reo Māori, and taught in some of first Māori total-immersion schools.

Exhibitions

Lodge's art works have been exhibited around New Zealand, including: