Baye Riddell

Baye Pewhairangi Riddell
Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare

Baye Pewhairangi Riddell (Ngāti Porou) is among the five founders of the Māori ceramic collective, Ngā Kaihanga Uku, who are known as ‘Ngā Toka Rima'.

Initially introduced to pottery while living in Christchurch in the early 1970s, Baye has earned a living from his work since 1974. Returning to his Tokomaru Bay rohe in 1979, Baye connected with Colleen Waata Urlich, Manos Nathan and Wi Taepa, and along with Paerau Corneal, established Ngā Kaihanga Uku at the at the 1986 Ngā Puna Waihanga national hui. This movement was celebrated in the 20

‘Ngā Toka Rima' have been at the forefront of the Māori ceramic movement in Aotearoa and forged long standing connections with indigenous ceramic artist communities in North America.

In the last two decades Baye has experimented with tall vessel form incorporating whakairo design inspired by stories of the Māori Battalion C-Company on the Western front of the Second World War (1939-1945).

In 2011 Baye was awarded the Creative New ZealandCraft/Object Fellowship and the Ngā Kaihanga Uku movement was celebrated in the 2013-14 national touring exhibition ‘Uku Rere'.