Gail Imhoff held her first solo exhibition at Space Studio & Gallery in July.
Photo / Whanganui Photography Ltd
Gail Imhoff held her first solo exhibition at Space Studio & Gallery in July.
Photo / Whanganui Photography Ltd
Gail Imhoff rarely went anywhere without her camera and happily shared her quality images with everyone.
Whether it was musicians, dancers, artists, surfers, children playing, birdlife, or just the curve of a perfect wave, Gail captured it all through her lens with her own distinctive style and her work gracesmany walls in public places as well as private homes in Whanganui.
Gail died suddenly on Friday, November 26, while on a hikoi on the Whanganui River photographing her favourite subjects.
Earlier this year, Gail told the Chronicle that "iwi and the awa" were the things that inspired her most.
In 2021, Gail's work gained a new level of appreciation with her participation in the Te Awa Reo group exhibition at the Sarjeant Gallery in January.
She was also a winner in the 2021 Patillo Arts Review picking up the Whanganui River Markets Trust Merit Award for Kōrero Ki Te Awa - a stunning photograph of a hoe (oar) splashing the water of the Whanganui River.
The Whanganui River Te Awa Tupua presented endless fascination for Gail Imhoff. This photograph was featured in the Te Awa Reo exhibition at the Sargeant Gallery.
Photo / Gail Imhoff
In July she held her debut solo exhibition at Space Studio & Gallery where she had been a long-time supporter photographing the work of other artists.
Space owner Sarah Williams said it was an honour to represent Gail for her exhibition named Ngā Iti O Whanga Nui.
"Gail was a huge part of the fabric of Whanganui; ever-present, she was a fierce supporter of Space and many other creative businesses and enterprises around Whanganui," Williams said.
"She was one of those people we think will always be there, so to experience her loss has been a huge shock for our community."
Williams said the exhibition showcased Gail's skill as a photographer and was a testament to her love of the awa.
"Her photographic images will live on and forever remind us of the artist and person she was and to always look around us to appreciate the beauty that is in Whanganui- in its people, in its landscape and in its river."
Gail Imhoff captured this beautiful image of the Whanganui High School waka ama team the River Queens passing Jerusalem in 2018.
Photo / Gail Imhoff
Gail's friend and fellow artist Pauline Allomes said she was delighted to see Gail's work get well-deserved recognition this year.
"Gail came to a mid-winter Christmas dinner at my house and we talked about our shared love and concern for the environment," Allomes said.
"Gail gave me one of her photographs and I asked her to describe what the awa and the environment meant to her. She said she found it hard to express in words but when she described the feeling she got from photographing the river and land she loved, it brought a tear to my eye."
When describing her feelings about the river to the Chronicle earlier this year, Gail said: "I have a strong connection to water, particularly though not only Te Awa Tupua, [Whanganui River]. It is about the mauri, wairua, and spiritual healing of water."
Allomes said Gail could also be a cheeky photographer - good at catching people unawares.
"About five years ago she caught me pulling a silly face in the street and shared it to her Facebook page. Every year since she has re-shared it and tagged me."
Whanganui storyteller and community stalwart Jay Rerekura also recalls fun times with Gail and her camera.
"I always sensed when Gail was about to take a photo and I'd do a stupid pose because I knew it annoyed her," he said.
"She would post the photo on Facebook and say it was of 'some egg' she met."
Gail first discovered her love of photography in 2005 when she joined the Whanganui Camera Club.
"I have always been interested in old family photographs and I have quite an extensive whānau archive back to the 1800s," she told the Chronicle this year.
"I went to the camera club to learn more about restoring old photos and ended up picking up the camera myself, and I haven't stopped since."
Asked if she ever went anywhere without her camera, Gail said she had once gone away for a few days and discovered that her camera was the only thing she had remembered to pack.
"I got there to find that I had my camera bag but not my clothes so I had to do a bit of shopping," she said.
Gail's other passions were her three children - Sue, Julie, and Anaru, and her nine grandchildren - Sophie, Caitlin, Trinity, McKenzie, Jordan, Taonga, Karney, Isla and Archie.
Gail Imhoff with her granddaughter Trinity Herewini at a Waitangi Day celebration in Patea in 2010.
Photo / Tracey Grant
Born Gail Windle on a farm near Raetihi in 1949, she completed her high school years as a boarder at Whanganui Girls' College before heading to Palmerston North to begin teacher training.
Deciding it wasn't for her, Gail moved to Christchurch where she worked as a pharmacy assistant for a few years before talking her way into a job as a telecine operator at NZBC.
She then trained as a sound recordist and moved on to the new Avalon television centre in Wellington.
Gail moved to Australia in the late 1970s and met her husband to be Gary Imhoff in the small town of Mundubbera. The couple moved back to Raetihi in 1981.
In the late 1990s, Gail moved to town and for the next 15 years, she worked in administrative roles at Whanganui Hospital including Māori mental health, surgical services, and Māori health.
In 2015, she was one of a group of artists who founded the Whanganui Fine Arts collective which recently celebrated its sixth anniversary.
She left the collective in 2018 and Allomes who has also moved out on her own said the early days were exciting and fun.
"Gail did a lot of the groundwork in promoting the collective and the gallery. It was good for all of us and really helped to establish the long-term success of the project."
Gail was farewelled at Cleveland Funeral Home on Tuesday and many who could not attend in person joined the live-streamed service.
Daughter Julie Herewini said the whanau had been "hugely blessed to have seen the love, thoughts, memories and images" that had been shared.
