Conversations with NZ Photographers

Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Lissa Mitchell

Tue, 05 May 2026 00:15:38 GMT

Thanks for listening to this episode of conversations with New Zealand photographers. I’m recording this intro on the 4th May 2026

My name’s Andy Spain, I’m an architectural photographer, working on projects across Aotearoa. I make these sporadic podcasts with photographers and curators and others in the small photography world here at the bottom of the world, to create an archive and it gives me an excuse to talk to people who I find interesting - you can find out more about me at www.andyspain.nz

Earlier Today I spoke to Lissa Mitchel, currently, curator of historical photography at Te Papa

In 2023 she wrote, through shaded Glass: Women and Photography in Aotearoa New Zealand 1860-1960 and her current exhibition which she curated (alongside an accompanying catalogue) is called Slow Burn, Women and Photography. It’s a fantastic show, running throughout 2026 at Te Papa and has allowed Lissa to go through the archive of women and non binary photographers work since 1960 to the present day, as well as adding to the collection through new acquisitions. It’s a roll call of many of the great names in contemporary photography here as well as a few new one’s that have been fun to discover. I particularly enjoyed the video work of Johanna Mechen and the older polaroid work of Janet Bayly and Dinah Bradley, all of whom were new to me.

We recorded it in the exhibition space at Te Papa, so there is some background noise and we had to end up moving to another area and then the lights all came on full so there are a few minor distractions but nothing like the torrential rain that made my chat with Kate Van der Drift a few weeks back unusable - I hope to re-record that soon with her.

If you have any suggestions for other recordings or collabs then drop me a line.

Enough waffle - here my conversation with the lovely Lissa Mitchel.

Picture of Lissa by Maarten Holl

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Sara Orme

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 02:09:56 GMT

A lovely conversation with Sara Orme about her journey in photography and her forthcoming publication, Kaumāua. From her website:

Sara Tautuku Orme (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tarawhai, Ngāti Whakaue – Te Arawa) is a Tāmaki Makaurau-based photographer and social documentarian with a background in sociology and kaupapa Māori storytelling. Her work explores whakapapa, Māori identity, mana motuhake, and the enduring impacts of colonisation, often through intimate portraiture and oral histories.

Sara has been exploring whanaungatanga through her lens for over two decades. Her work has been exhibited in Aotearoa, Australia, and New York, and is held in public collections such as Waikato Museum.

Her most recent kaupapa, Kaumātua, records and preserves the kōrero whaiaro and mātauranga of Māori elders across Aotearoa. Rooted in tikanga and story sovereignty, the work combines large-format photographic portraiture with Māori oral histories.

She has exhibited at Te Papa, Caelum Gallery (New York), and Blindside (Melbourne), and in 2025 contributed to He Waka Eke Noa at Tim Melville Gallery. She has twice been recognised by the Contemporary New Zealand Art Awards (2022, 2023), receiving a national award for her photographic work. Her forthcoming book, Kaumātua Aotearoa, will be published by Auckland University Press in 2026.

Born in Ōtautahi, with whakapapa to Te Teko and Rotorua, Sara has lived in Tāmaki Makaurau for over 30 years, where she raised her tamariki and now her mokopuna. At home she is known as Sara, but on her marae, Ruaihona, in Te Teko, she is Hera — or, as some affectionately say, “the blonde.”

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Neil Pardington

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 22:46:56 GMT

On this podcast I talk to photographer and designer Neil Pardington. We talk about his early creative experiences, working with his sister, Fiona, on her 2026 Aotearoa / New Zealand Venice Biennale exhibition, influences of other photographers, his current project called Rimurapa (Bull Kelp) and much else.

Website https://neilpardington.com/

Andy Spain 2025

www.asvisual.nz

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Andrew Beck

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 23:07:28 GMT

No annoying intros. Just a chat with a photographer. In this episode I speak to camera-less photographer (if that isn't an oxymoron?) Andrew Beck. We talk about his life as an artist, his background, his MA show at Massey, his move from camera to no camera for his art practice, working as an artist in Aotearoa, image as object, photography as sculpture, not being bothered by AI, coming up with ideas, site specific work, growing as an artist, collaborating, broken car windscreens and much more.

Image: Adrian Vercoe

Links to previous interviews:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlRkIFfsTWI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAVvVj3fNdQ

https://www.thisishere.nz/here-and-now/photography-backwards?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Gallery Representation:

https://starkwhite.co.nz/artist/andrew-beck/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/andrew_bec/?hl=en

Andy Spain

Website

Instagram

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Yvonne Todd

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 21:40:04 GMT

Placentas, soup and moving forward with art.

Yvonne Todd, what a privilege to have a chat with the talented, interesting and very funny YVONNE TODD.

Here instagram profile is here which has recent updates with her AI imagery and website here.

We spoke about lots of things, the art world, early references and AI.

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Thomas Slade

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 22:01:40 GMT

Artist Statement

I can recall my first encounter with Māori resentment towards colonisation in 1991. I was watching a One News story about the protests at Pākaitore over local Iwi’s claim to that area of land. I can still remember the first thought that occurred to me as a 12 year old Pākehā – “ohh get over it, that was ages ago”. I’m deeply saddened and embarrassed that my culture had fostered such an ignorant and unempathetic position. As a young Pākehā who thought New Zealand was a paradise decorated with cricket pitches and rugby fields, it was my first experience that all was not well in paradise and deep-seated tensions, resulting from colonial injustices remained unresolved.

My experience is not isolated but is symbolic of how many Pākehā navigate their position in Aotearoa, New Zealand. The European control of the historical narrative has worked hard to leave out the destructive practices of colonisation in favour of the more comfortable settler narrative. This has left many of us ignorant and poorly equipped to understand what it means to be Pākehā and to navigate the relations between, and our shared history with Māori.

As I have begun a journey to better understanding my identity as a Pākehā and place in Aotearoa, New Zealand I have confronted the European systems that were established through colonisation. Anne Salmond (p. 2) recognises how these European ‘forms of order’ are so often invisible as they have become the ‘common sense’ and everyday systems we use to structure our lives. Using photography’s strength of representation, I am holding these systems up for critique to highlight how they are culturally designed to serve Pākehā. As observed by Moana Jackson “There is a Westminster constitutional system shaped to serve Pākehā interests in England and then imposed here”. For Māori, this is “a foreign construct”.

I am hoping that by representing this cultural imbalance in the control of power it can prompt other Pākehā to consider their understanding of history and place in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

- Thomas Slade, 2023

Thomas Slade - bio

I am an artist who works with the medium of photography. I am currently living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington, where I am completing a creative PhD at Massey University. My focus as an artist is on creating research-driven bodies of work and my current PhD practice examines my own Pākehā identity and the impact of colonisation in Aotearoa, New Zealand. My photography explores Pākehā culture and examines characteristics such as our rural heritage and relationship to land. I have exhibited my photography throughout New Zealand since 2013. I am an Associate Fellow of Higher Education and Learning (UKPSF Framework) and have over eight years of experience teaching photography at a tertiary level. I find this role to be a great support to my artistic practice and enjoy the opportunity to give back to current students the positive experience I have had in education. My future aims as an artist are to continue working in photography, research and education. Outside of my work I find great balance to the studio by competing in sports and getting lost in the mountains.

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Cody Ellingham

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 23:37:52 GMT

PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBEAndy Spain talks to photographer Cody Ellingham. Cody returned from Japan to New Zealand, started a photography project called New Zealand Nocturnes, photographs of New Zealand housing at night. This coincided with the current housing crisis in New Zealand. The work was due to be shown at the Auckland Festival of Photography before being postponed (twice) because of Covid.Website: https://codyellingham.com/The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/30/haves-and-have-nots-how-the-housing-crisis-is-creating-two-new-zealands-a-photo-essayRNZ: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/standing-room-only/audio/2018698792/expat-kiwi-photographer-cody-ellingham

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Ann Shelton (av)

Sat, 09 May 2020 07:23:21 GMT

Shelton began her career as a photojournalist working for daily newspapers, before deciding she wanted more control over her images and deciding to go to art school. As an artist, her work mixes conceptual and narrative traditions of photography. In large-scale, hyper-real photographs she explores histories of people and of places, often bringing forgotten or controversial histories to light. Shelton has also shown a steady interest in the nature of the archive, exploring the collections of others in her work.Shelton first came to attention with the series Redeye. Selected from thousands of photographs taken over a period of two years, the work document Auckland's art scene and its gallery openings, performances and underground events, especially those taking place around the artist-run space Teststrip. Described by the artist as a 'social diary', the series was described by Auckland Art Gallery photography curator Ron Brownson as 'some of the most inventive and risk taking in recent art in New Zealand'.A recent series, jane says, created for her 2016 exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery Dark Matter, features plants traditionally associated with treatments for women's fertility placed in ikebana-like arrangements against vibrant coloured backgrounds. The artist spent a year researching, collecting, arranging and photographing the plants, which include thistle, fennel, rhododendron and yarrow.

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Jono Rotman

Sun, 12 Apr 2020 10:22:51 GMT

Jono Rotman in conversation about his book Mongrelism. Check out the review of the book by Peter Black for Photoforum in 2019 https://www.photoforum-nz.org/blog/2019/8/28/mongrelism-reviewed

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Tim Veling

Mon, 30 Mar 2020 03:00:33 GMT

The cornerstones of Tim’s practice are the psychological landscape and social-political environment. His work straddles the genres of fine art and documentary photography. He is currently engaged in long-term projects relating to the aftermath of Christchurch’s devastating 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. He has exhibited nationally and internationally. Tim lectures in photography at the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts, New Zealand. He is the director and administrator of Place in Time: The Christchurch Documentary Project.

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Caroline McQuarrie

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 22:29:14 GMT

A conversation with artist photographer, Caroline McQuarrie. Lecturer at Massey University. Her work looks at home, making, domestic, West Coast of NZ.

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Edith Amituanai

Sun, 21 Jul 2019 08:50:09 GMT

Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Edith Amituanai

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Harvey Benge

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 21:31:38 GMT

A conversation with New Zealand Photographer and prolific photobook creator, Harvey Benge, from his home in Auckland. Harvey talks about Paris Photo, the small world of international art photography, hanging out with Paul Graham, Martin Parr and Rineke Dijkstra and everyone else who matters.

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Derek Henderson

Thu, 14 Feb 2019 22:23:11 GMT

Photographer, Derek Henderson, in conversation.

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Joseph Kelly

Fri, 09 Nov 2018 00:49:14 GMT

A chat with the UK turned Wellington based photographer, Joseph Kelly.Joseph is from Kent in England, he went to study photography in Brighton and after a bit of messing about on cruise ships and at old skool photo labs he moved to Wellington with his Kiwi wife. From Wellington he started off assisting and slowly built up to be one of the leading New Zealand advertising photographers. He came in for a chat in 2018 about his time at University and starting out again in Wellington.

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - Mary Macpherson

Thu, 08 Nov 2018 00:58:39 GMT

Mary is a long time member and face behind Photoforum. She came in for a visit in May 2018 to mainly talk about her (then) recent book, THE LONG VIEW (amongst other bodies of work she has completed). Mary is a quiet, thoughtful person which is embodied in her images and poetry.

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Conversations with New Zealand Photographers - David Cook

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 23:48:44 GMT

David Cook is a lecturer in Photography at Massey University in Wellington. Between 1984 and 2004 he made repeat visits to a mining community which was turned into the amazing social document, Lake of Coal - The Disappearance of a Mining Township. The dedication to the project and selfless ability to produce collaborative work enabled him to create an essential piece of social history.

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