Vaiere Mara

Vaiere Mara
Born
Vaieretiai Mara

1936
Avera, Rurutu, Austral archipelago, French polynesia
Died2005
Paea, Tahiti
Resting placeArue
NationalityFrench
Known forSculpture
Notable workThe legend of Hina, Tahitian tamaara'a
ChildrenMateha Gilles Mara

Vaieretiai Mara, better known as Vaiere Mara (1936 - 2005) was a French Polynesian sculptor. He was the first modern Polynesian sculptor, and the first Polynesian artist to sign his works.[1]

Mara was born on the island of Rurutu in the Austral Islands. A student of the sculptor Joseph Kimitete who began as a sculptor of Marquesan Tiki, he quickly developed a personal style which made him the first modern Polynesian sculptor. He is also the first Polynesian artist to have signed his works.[1] He most often signed his works MARA V. Very prolific, he created numerous busts in white coral, as well as innovative Polynesian themes such as the Tahitian tamaaraa (Tahitian lunch), pig hunting and even bas-reliefs in precious wood.

At the end of the sixties, Governor Jean Sicurani personally acquired a monumental Hina. Known from a work by Patrick O Reilly,[2] this sculpture was preserved by the High Commission of the Republic and exhibited for the first time to the public in 2021 at the University of French Polynesia, as part of World Day art.

In 1978 Patrick O'Reilly devoted a book to the sculptor,[3] Bois légendaires de Mara, sculpteur tahitien, published by Hachette Pacifique.[4]

At the end of the 1970s he provided decorations for the Assembly of French Polynesia, on commission from the government of Francis Sandford.[5]

Mara died in 2005 in Arue.[6]

Vaiere Mara digs into fossilized coral in Rurutu
  1. ^ a b Duday, Jean; Mara, Mateha. "Sculptures de corail" (in French). TK-21. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Une exposition à la mémoire du grand sculpteur polynésien Mara" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Bois légendaires de Mara". WorldCat.
  4. ^ "Bois légendaires de Mara, sculpteur tahitien". SUDOC.
  5. ^ Bougard, Jonathan. "Vaiere Mara, le principe du corail". Jean Guiart.
  6. ^ "Sur les traces d'un artiste oublié, Mara V" (in French). ACTU. 3 December 2019. Archived from the original on 25 August 2022.