Acrylic on Rimu, in Vintage Frame, with Resin. From the 2025 exhibition Forest and Flora.

12.5 × 9.5 (30mm hanging)

Collection vs Connection

This body of work began with a collection of vintage brass frames waiting in my studio to be used. Reflecting on the Victorian fascination with collecting and displaying the natural world led me to consider the tension between possession and true connection to place and nature.

At the same time, visits to local walks around Te Āpiti, the Manawatū Gorge, sparked a renewed appreciation for the landscape I call home. Knowing the Gorge was one of the last known habitats of the sacred Huia, I found myself walking the tracks listening for a bird that is no longer there, inspired by both presence and absence.

Through adorned frames, native timber, printed leaves and painted forms, this collection brings together New Zealand native birds and introduced species that inhabit my garden, local landscape and memory. The works explore heritage, belonging, reverence for the natural world, and the quiet reminder that being here, in this place, is a gift.