Fayne Robinson

Charles Eldon Fayne Robinson (born 1964) is a New Zealand Māori artist specialising in carving. Robinson has contributed to the carving of buildings on many marae in New Zealand as well as exhibiting his art in galleries and museums.

Biography Robinson was born in 1964 and grew up in the South Island town of Hokitika on the West Coast of New Zealand. His iwi are Kāti Māmoe, Kai Tahu, Ngāti Apa Ki Te Rā Tō and Ngāti Porou. Robinson trained in Māori carving at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, Rotorua and graduated in 1984, He was just 17 when he got accepted, and was one of only four from Ngāi Tahu who have attended. He was influenced to pursue Māori art from meeting the head weaver from the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, Emily Schuster, when he was younger.

Robinson has carved on meeting houses and at marae, including Te Tauraka Waka a Māui Marae in Bruce Bay, completed in 2005, and Arahura Marae near Hokitika, completed in 2013. The New Zealand national museum Te Papa Tongarewa owns three of his works in their collections.

Works and exhibitions

Wharenui as master carver 2005 – Kaipō, Te Tauraka Waka a Māui Marae, Bruce Bay 2010 – Wheke, Rāpaki (Te Wheke) Marae, Te Rāpaki-o-Te Rakiwhakaputa (with Riki Manuel) 2013 – Tūhuru, Arahura Marae, Arahura

Exhibitions 2003 – Kiwa-Pacific Connections, Vancouver, Canada, group exhibition 2017 – Ka Nohoaka Toi, Toi Moaraki CoCA, Christchurch, group exhibition sponsored by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu 2019 – Kura Pounamu: Our Treasured Stone, group exhibition curated by Te Papa Tongarewa

Public installations 2010 – Te Pou Herenga Waka, Christchurch Civic Building, Worcester Boulevard, Christchurch 2013 – Te Kaiwhakatere o Te Raki, pouwhenua, Scott Base, Antarctica 2017 – Pounamu sculpture, Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa, Canterbury (with Caleb Robinson) 2018 – Tāwhaki, Tūranga, Christchurch (with Caleb Robinson) 2018 – Kāhui Whatu, Tūranga, Christchurch 2020 – Carved memorial stone, Jacobs River 2022 – Woolston Village pou, six pou, Woolston 2022 – Pou Tū te Raki o Te Maiharanui, Takapūneke, Banks Peninsula 2022 – Te Kopikopiko o Te Waka, Gillespies Beach Road 2023 – Kauawhi, temporary installation at the Bridge of Remembrance, Christchurch; to be permanently installed at Kahurangi, the new youth mental health facility at Hillmorton Hospital, in 2024 2024 – Te Arawhiti ki Matangi Āwhio, balustrade to bridge spanning Saltwater Creek, Nelson

Other 2017 – Crozier for Richard Wallace, second Pīhopa o Te Waipounamu 2018 – Design of Manly Warringah Sea Eagles jersey, worn by Manly for matches played in Christchurch 2018 – Te Ātanga, Broadhurst–Shelford Trophy, contested in NRL matches between Manly Warringah and the New Zealand Warriors 2023 – Design of Tahutahi pounamu pendants (with Rānui Ngārimu) for the 2024 New Zealand Olympic team