Fayne was born and raised in Hokitika. He graduated from the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Carving School Rotorua in 1984. After working as a graduate carver for four years, he became a tutor in Hokitika. He later returned to Rotorua to expand his knowledge of carving. Trained in wānanga (traditional schooling), Fayne continuously developed his contemporary style and spent 25 years in Rotorua working on various carving projects for New Zealand and international clients.
Fayne returned to Te Wai Pounamu in 2006. He has contributed carvings to ten wharenui (ancestral meeting houses).
His works have been displayed in New Zealand galleries and international collections, and he has participated in “Kiwa-Pacific Connections” (2003) and “Manawa Pacific Heartbeat” (2006) in Vancouver, Canada.
Honoured by his peers Fayne has been honoured by his peers as “Te Toki Pounamu” (“The Greenstone Adze”) to acknowledge that his carving skills are as precious as pounamu. Many of his sculptural and design works can be seen in Christchurch, such as the “Te Pou Herenga Waka” sculpture erected outside the Christchurch City Council building.
Fayne has completed designing, carving and overseeing the carvings for Te Tauraka Waka a Māui marae wharenui “Kaipo” in south Westland, Rāpaki marae project wharenui “Wheke” and the Arahura marae project “Tuhuru”. His preferred medium is wood, but he also uses bone, Pounamu, stone and skin (tā moko) as media for his art.
A modern approach Fayne enjoys reinterpreting traditional design in modern ways, often by incorporating non-traditional materials like stainless steel, acrylic, and glass. This allows him to preserve traditional design elements while using relevant materials in the 21st century. To bring his design vision to life using these materials, he needed to find someone with the expertise and attention to detail required to maintain artistic excellence. Brent Brownlee and his team at Art Fetiche are the perfect choice for this.
One notable temporary public art installation was the creation of four sculptural lightboxes serving as a waharoa for the “Matatini” national kapahaka celebration in Hagley Park in March 2015.
Leisure time to Fayne is bringing to life the tiki form from the random shapes of the raw materials, and exploring light and dimension in his sculptural forms. Having gathered pounamu from childhood, he loves the different features and he finds it rewarding when he can allow the stone to dictate the shape and design features that can be carved, to reveal the beauty of the raw materials.
A personal philosophy – “you are only as good as your last creation” drives Fayne to continue to test the materials used and the boundaries of contemporary art, while staying true to the traditional art forms and the teachings of his NZ Māori Arts & Crafts Institution Carving School tutors and peers, many of whom he continues to work alongside on collaborative projects today.
Fayne is presently mentoring others through wānanga style of intergenerational passing on his 40+ years of experience to uplift standards and skills encouraging them not to settle for less than artistic excellence, thereby maintaining and honouring the taonga of Māori whakairo.
Carver and Designer
A harmonious collaboration at Pounamu Pathways between Art Fetiche and Smart Project Management in Greymouth, New Zealand
With panoramic views of The Southern Alps and a great vantage for Fox Glacier, Te Kopikopiko o te Waka is a Tohu Whenua site that tells the Ngai Tahu story of creation.
Standing more than eight metres tall, carved by Ngāi Tahu tohunga whakairo Fayne Robinson and fabricated by Art Fetiche rises the Pou rises from the centre of a takarangi pathway that draws visitors inward, in ever-decreasing circles.
