I am an artist, art writer, educator, curator and consultant for artists based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. I am the curator of PHOTO OP. – a new platform for contemporary art in Aotearoa, and the editor of publishing imprint PUFF PIECE.
I consider the twin strands of artist and art writer as the collective core of my creative practice. In particular, my work is underpinned by an interest in the cultural positions of artists – the artist as medium, activist, citizen and public intellectual. In keeping, my work seeks to directly address current cultural and political issues circulating in the public sphere. My work materialises in a range of media including photography, publishing, painting, film and video, and curation.
I work primarily in the arts, education and GLAM sectors. I am currently a sessional Lecturer in Photography and Design at the Auckland University of Technology, where I have taught since 2022. I was a lecturer in Photo Media at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design from 2017- 2020, teaching across contextual and studio based programmes in photo media and fine arts, and am research rated in the national framework.
I juggle lecturing with contract work as an experienced independent consultant and mentor for a number of artists. I have contributed to the Browne School of Art’s Visual Art Mentoring Programme (VAMP) since 2018, and mentored artists through programmes facilitated by Artists Alliance and The Big Idea. I have hosted courses and workshops in person and online through Art.Work, Browne School of Art, Lake House Arts Centre and independently.
I graduated with a Master of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) from the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, in 2013, and a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Auckland University of Technology in 2002. I was ranked 1st in New Zealand for art history as a secondary school student after falling in love with art. I have been the recipient of a number of awards and scholarships, including a Goethe Institut Scholarship for Cultural Ambassadors (Berlin, 2019), Wallace Art Award (2011), University of Auckland Summer Research Scholarship (2010-11), the Archives New Zealand 50th Anniversary Scholarship (2009), and was a finalist in the National Contemporary Art Award (2014, 2007), New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Award (2016), and Wallace Art Awards (2010, 2007). In 2020, I was included in Auckland University’s ’40 Under 40: Inspiring Alumni’.
Selected exhibition highlights include:
THE GOVERNMENT STROKE, Northart Gallery (2023), The Truth is Out There, The Dowse Art Museum (2022), Worlds Within: Photobooks of Aotearoa New Zealand, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (2022), The National Basement, Old Government House, University of Auckland (2020), This is New Zealand, City Gallery Wellington (2018), $1/Word: A Living Wage for New Zealand Art Writers, Projects Programme, Aotearoa Art Fair (2018), This Might Be The Place, Ilam Gallery, University of Canterbury (2017), this is the cup of your heart, Dowse Museum (2016), and PRISMISM, Enjoy Contemporary Art Space (2014). I am represented in public and private collections.
My art writing includes essays, reviews, interviews, journalism and editing. I am a regular contributor to Art News New Zealand and Art Collector magazines alongside other platforms, and was the 2021 Auckland exhibitions critic for Art News New Zealand.
My publications include commissions by City Gallery Wellington, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, The Suter Art Gallery, Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, Art New Zealand, Art News New Zealand, Art Collector, Contemporary Hum, Pantograph Punch, PhotoForum, EyeContact, Enjoy Occasional Journal, Writing Around Sound, Two Rooms, Visions, Tim Melville Gallery, Art + Object, Webb’s, Bowerbank Ninow, Ocula, D-Photo and selected artists.
I have worked for a number of respected galleries, libraries, archives and museums in Aotearoa including Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, Nga Taonga Sound & Vision, City Gallery Wellington, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland Museum and the National Library.
In 2018, I was Exhibitions Co-ordinator for dealer gallery Two Rooms, with a focus on art writing, communications and proposals, publicity, client liaison, and supporting sales and operations. In 2021, I hosted the STATION gallery booth representing artist Daniel Boyd at the Aotearoa Art Fair, placing key works in significant public and private collections in Aotearoa. In 2022, I supported MARS Gallery’s first exhibition at the Fair representing artist Atong Atem.
I have curated and delivered free tour programmes of local galleries and creative spaces in the service of audience development. Examples include my work with Artweek Auckland (2017-20), and as curator and project manager of the independent ART WALKS initiative which was staged across Auckland central suburbs in 2021.
PHOTO OP.‘s first season of exhibitions ran May 2022 – March 2023, hosted by and in partnership with Skar Image Lab, with accompanying publications released for each exhibition. For phase two, the platform moves online with the release of commissioned editions and a nomadic approach to exhibition making. Follow PHOTO OP. on Instagram.