'love from us'

This is 'Margaret' alongside 'Ruth' (by Jennifer Mayer) and 'Carol' (by Helen Andrews) in a show we titled 'love from us' (new work, from us, with love) that showed at dep_art_ment on Ponsonby Road from 22nd June - 6th July.

'Margaret'

This is an image I took basically as a homage to my grandma, Margaret. She first taught me to knit when I was young and without her I wouldn't be able to make the work that I do. It's also a poke at the highly contrived kind of (self) portraiture I like to work with.

'They Were Young Once'

'They Were Young Once' is an annual exhibition that runs at Satellite Gallery which aims to show emerging artists with established. This year I had the pleasure of showing these three images alongside the likes of Marti Friedlander and Harvey Benge.

'a fleshy self : consciousness'

After alot of stress, tears, sweat and really late nights this is where my work ended up. These are images from my Graduating Exhibition. They combined everything I had worked with over the past three years and I am still so happy with the result. I knitted the objects and adornment and then photographed them on a body (my own) to contrast the softness/warmth of the knitting with the 'unattractive' parts of the body that society may view as flaws. I wanted to momentarily beautify these aspects, draw attention to them. Once again these images were printed large scale (my images are always more effective this way) to overwhelm the viewer.

As well as self-portraiture I started to focus on parts of the body that are viewed as unbecoming or disgusting, a kind of tame version of the 'abject' - flabby stomach, cracked heels, blisters, jagged toenails, cuts and bruises.

I really got into self portraiture towards the end of third year because I was a 'model' who was always there, I didn't have to knit something or organise someone which meant I could take images whenever an idea came. These are rather amateur shots of my standing against my bedroom curtain wearing an old nightie.

I gave a small plastic doll some epic pubic hair made out of thread and then photographed her spotlit.

The knitted doll work started me on a new obsession with bodily hair, these are some images of my mum's armpits.

I came across an old knitting pattern for some truly hideous dolls which I then sewed real pubic hair and little red nipples into, this was the first time I knitted something to then pervert and photograph. These images were printed large scale to completely overwhelm the viewer. I wanted to comment on the objectification of women in society in a fun/creepy way.

When I came back in third year I was pretty unsure about what to do so to waste some time I knitted these chains.

These are images from the final exhibition in second year. I had recently brought knitting into my work at uni for the drawing paper and this was the first time I combined it with photography. These images were a culmination of everything I had explored up until then - memories, childhood, lighting, set up images and knitting.

These are some medium format images I shot at my grandparent's house, combining my obsessions with memory and lighting.

Two images from a series of shoots I did at op shops in New Lynn, imparting significance onto these neglected and forgotten objects by photographing them close up.

I was pretty obsessed with taking photos of my younger female relatives dressed up and looking 'awkward' for a while, something that progressed on from first year.

These are some images I took at the start of second year of the house I grew up in getting renovated ready to sell. Exploring ideas around memory and the erosion of what we remember over time.

This is a very early image from art school, taken in 1st year of my sister Elizabeth on the back porch of the house we grew up in.