Proud to represent her culture

One of the pieces Zara created for the campaign is ‘Guidance through the waters’. “As the tide turns and the waters are guided back out to the depths of Tangaroa, pockets of water are captured and embraced by the golden sands of Marahau.” zaraalenart.co.nz

Kiwi artist Zara Alen says she is proud to have represented her country in the Avis Charity Auction held in Sydney earlier this month. Reporter Maika Akroyd talks to Zara about how she came to be involved in the auction and the Avis Art of Discovery art campaign.

Zara was born in Gisborne and has lived all over New Zealand before moving to New South Wales (NSW), where she was living when approached about the charity art auction.

She incorporates traditional Maori practices in her art, and said she was encouraged to get involved after organisers dubbed her as a “Maori artist”.

“I think that’s pretty neat — just the fact that I could represent Maori was cool.”

Zara was home-schooled for most of her childhood, as her family lived in a house bus that followed her Ngati Porou father who worked in forestry.

“My parents wanted to move out of Gisborne, and that was the easiest way they could. They combined travelling with his job.

“It was an amazing lifestyle. I always relate it to things I do now and how I am today.”

At age 10 she settled in at a school in Picton and became familiar with the top of the South Island, Te Tau Ihu, to be exact.

“Avis asked me what places were inspiring to me and I told them, Te Tau Ihu and Gisborne,” she said.

So the Australian car rental provider flew Zara to Te Tau Ihu from NSW, where she picked up a rental car and took photos of the places that inspired her.

The 12 New Zealand and Australian artists who participated in the charity auction were asked to embark on journeys to places that inspired them to then produce their works.

The Australian artists toured Australia in rental cars, and the Kiwis toured New Zealand as a part of the ‘Art of Discovery’ campaign.

On her trip, Zara visited the Tasman district including Marahau, Kaiteriteri, Takaka and the Te Waikoropupu Springs.

All expenses paid, she brought the photos she took back to NSW and began her artwork to reflect her inspiration of New Zealand.

When Zara first heard about the Avis Art of Discovery campaign through someone contacting her on Instagram, however, she didn’t think it was “legit”.

“The person ended up calling me and emailing me, and told me I’d be the only Maori artist in the campaign,” said Zara.

“I am proud to be representing my culture in a campaign that will be seen by so many people, playing a part in making these traditional techniques more recognisable and commonplace.”

One of Zara’s techniques involves using epoxy resin which is a liquid that she adds colour pigment to before it hardens on to wood.

“It creates really cool movement and I like to colour it blue as symbolism for the ocean.”

Her biggest inspiration for her art is the water.

“Keeping the waterways healthy and keeping the movement alive is good.

“I was surrounded by different water everyday in the house bus. We’d be by a lake or a river and that really inspired me, and that’s where it all started from.”

She said her Mum, who home-schooled her, was “quite arty too”. Zara has always been interested in art and has been doing it for as long as she can remember.

Zara completed a Maori visual arts course in 2016 at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) where her kaiako (teacher), Olivia Hall taught her for a year.

“She taught me a lot of the artistic techniques that I use today.”

Zara has done drawing, sculpting, building, painting and carving.

“I made a patu, that was pretty neat. We experimented with a whole lot of different mediums and materials to create art.”

Zara has always used art to express her love and respect for the taiao (environment).

“The top of the South Island has everything from white sand beaches, to lush, green bush,” she said.

She has had art displayed in a couple of galleries, including one in Nelson and one in Sydney.

The last time she was in Gisborne was in 2011 and said she would “love” to come back soon to re-connect with the whenua and her whanau.

The artworks of Zara and the other 11 artists raised over $16,000 at the auction for charity partners R U OK? and Cure Kids.

R U OK? is a helpline organisation that focuses on suicide prevention, and Cure Kids said they “focus on raising funds to enable New Zealand-based medical research to help extend and improve the lives of children diagnosed with serious life-impacting and life-limiting health conditions”.

The highest-selling piece on the night was by New Zealand artist, Holly Zanbergen. That was of Lake Pukaki with Aoraki (Mt Cook) in the distance, selling at $2903.

Kiwi artworks made up over half of the total sales and Zara, a part-time artist, sold one of her three pieces for $AUD500.

Zara said the whole experience made her “fall back in love with New Zealand and its environment” after living in Australia for two years. She works full time as a printer art framer which she enjoys but feels it is not fulfilling her passion.

She has since returned and is living in Motueka in the Tasman district.

Her artworks were displayed across the country as part of the Avis Art of Discovery Campaign about an artist’s portrayal of an inspirational place.

Avis commissioned artists to produce three artworks depicting their place of inspiration. Artists were given the opportunity to travel to an inspirational place, all expenses paid, and given a due date to achieve the artworks.

Zara lives with partner, Tamu Mausii and has a daughter, Arielle Watson and a son, Te Kou o Rehua Watson.

Her next step will be to take her art further and “more seriously” by working fulltime on it.

“I’m excited and nervous but I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” she said.