Artist Profile
James Pirika is an emerging New Zealand pounamu carver who has learned his craft in our Rotorua studio working alongside leading artists such as Tamaora Walker and John Sheehan Jnr. His designs are inspired by his culture and heritage, and he's known for carving bold, powerful pieces. James is constantly humbled to learn a significant part of his culture and heritage through carving jade. Maori people didn’t have a written language, they would instead utilise carvings to remind themselves of their past, learning and passing their stories and heritage onto future generations. James is most passionate when it comes to the traditional meanings behind the designs and the stone, strongly believing that it brings people together globally. It is found around the world and so many cultures have seen it as an important element in their culture and identity.
Carving for me started straight out of high school, the plan was, I'll work for a year then figure out what I want to do. I got offered a job at Mountain Jade, packing boxes at first, but this soon lead to an opportunity to actually work with the stone making keyrings.However, the novelty of drilling the holes in keyrings soon wore off and one day I was asked if I wanted to carve something, which of course I did, who wouldn't? I jumped at the opportunity and never looked back! The really cool part of this story is that I grew up knowing Mountain Jade as my mother had worked there for around 12-years. I used to spend time at her office hanging out and doing little jobs like putting cords on pendants, but at no point did it ever occur to me that I was going to be part of the Mountain Jade family, let alone a carver.
My passion for the stone and the art form comes from my cultural and ancestral connection to it as a Māori. I am humbled to be able to share what I learn, and a very important part of my culture, with people from all over the world. I love showing visitors why pounamu is so much more than just a stone. Also, knowing that one day the pieces I carve will help future generations learn about who they are and where they come from, a physical and spiritual connection back to their ancestors and their roots, just as the old carvings are for us today. Inspiration for my designs comes from many different places, whether it be our old stories, legends, beliefs, or the world around us. It also comes from the other artists that I work with. I always want to better myself and create new things but without losing that key ingredient of tradition and meaning - the symbols we carve have whakapapa (genealogy), just as we do, and it's important to me that this is echoed through what we carve today, no matter how new or contemporary, the design should still have a traditional base.