LEARN MORE > I am a proud Rarotongan artist with a BCA from Manukau Institute of Technology Otara, New Zealand,. I was born and raised in New Lynn by Pakeha/European parents that taught me everything I know, the area I currently live in, has a diverse mix of cultures that inspire me to work around my heritage as a Cook Islander, which I have only recently discovered. Through my lens based practice, I expore the relationship between my pacific culture and places where I have lived within the region of Auckland. I employ the use of Photography to convey the stories of my life as a Pacific Islander. Although I live in diaspora, my blood belongs to the Cook Islands and my life to New Zealand where I was born and raised. I mainly work within the medium of Photography and Moving Image, however have a love for drawing and painting as well, I use flowers and hand crafted ei’s (headpieces) and lei’s (flower necklaces) to express my heritage as a Cook Islander and use plastic flowers to show that beauty can also come from things that are not from nature or natural. E.g the relationship between myself, biological family and my Adoptive family, without one I would not have the other, and without either, I would not be where I am today. Where, when and how I was raised plays a big part in my work, which is perhaps the reason why I always return to photography as my choosen forte, within photography I can capture a moment in time, it is the moment I have decided to preserve, and I get to show what I want you to see, the story is up to you as I already know the meaning behind it. The dimensions of my work usually involve large digital format prints or installations of moving image with sound, I have also been known to combine both. I also use dark backgrounds although my work is dark enough to be installed on to a light background as well. The prosthetics of my work include colour as I feel it brings it to life.