The Endless Cycle

The Endless Cycle

Holly and Sara - A Family Portrait - 2021

Historically, the portrait has been a hallmark of aristocratic families, a display of lineage, pride, and wealth. In a prominent place at the centre of the home, above a fireplace, or in a gallery on show to guests, portraits espoused the ‘family’ as society said it was ‘supposed’ to look – upper class, European, with a father, mother, and children. Adopting and subverting tradition, this work depicts the artist’s friends and their two dogs, Elton and Cheeko, to become a proud statement of family that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community. All families merit equality, recognition, and belonging, deserving to be proud of who they are.

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Emma and Olivia - Times of Transition

Oil on panel - 2026

This painting explores a time of transition—both in Emma and Olivia’s personal lives and in the wider story of women in Aotearoa. At eleven, they stand on the threshold between childhood and adolescence, a moment of profound growth and change. I loved creating this piece and getting to know Emma and Olivia better, though it was technically challenging. A warped reference photo meant the large-scale work had to be painted freehand in my small studio, where space to step back is limited. The process pushed my boundaries as an artist, and I’m always grateful for works that challenge me in that way.

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The Endless Cycle - Vanity, Greed, Ambition

This work focuses on the patterns in humankind that hold us back as a race and illustrates how the elite are often selected by breeding rather than suitability to lead. Vanity, greed and ambition turn the powerful away from the welfare of those they have the means to care for and I can’t help but wonder, how far have we truly progressed? When I look around, I see a world that is entrenched in the very same corruptions that shaped the past. I see it in the environment, in poverty, in inequality, in the wealth divide, and war.
Can this change? Admittedly, I am cynical about human nature and our ability to put the welfare of others over personal/family gain. Yet cynic or not, I must hope. We now live in a world with weapons that could cause our extinction and a habitat that is being destroyed, a world where an invisible line in the earth is enough for thousands to kill and be killed for, and where among those thousands, lay children.
I must hope, because to not hope would be to despair. I hope that there is a way we can evolve past these instincts, I hope in the power of community and kindness, and I hope in a future of safety, of equality, and of peace.