Roi Toia

Roi was born and raised in Southland province in the South Island of New Zealand, although his whakapapa (genealogy) is the Te Mahurehure hapu (sub-tribe) from the Hokianga in Northland on the North Island. In 1983, he received a three-year apprenticeship to the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, where he learned to carve with the adze and chisel and graduated with honours. He has carved on four whare whakairo (carved houses), which fuelled his passion for perfecting the technical aspects of his art and led him to learn about the ideology and spiritual aspects of carving.

After a decade carving in the traditional style, Roi explored a more contemporary direction and developed his own distinct style. In 1995, he was the carving tutor at Waiariki Institute of Technology in Rotorua; in 1996 he started his own business, Mauri Concepts, which was conceived during the exhibition “Reflections” in Rotorua. His work is held in many private collections in New Zealand and abroad and was exhibited in “Fusion: Tradition & Discovery” (1999) and “Kiwa-Pacific Connections” (2003), both held in Vancouver, Canada.

Excerpt from Manawa—Pacific Heartbeat, 2005.

• Roi Toia: Transitions, solo exhibition, 2006.