c a t h r o g e r s | (NGĀ PUHI, NGĀTI MANIAPOTO, NGĀI TE RANGI)

I am a multi-disciplinary artist of Pakeha, Sicilian and Māori ancestry, currently living and creating in Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa, New Zealand.

I create large scale, bold and vibrant contemporary artworks. My paintings have also been turned into flamboyant, one of a kind wearable art pieces that can be seen at events around Aotearoa being worn by the ‘Hunter_ Raver’ troupe. My medium, consisting mainly of abstract painting and screen printing onto stretched canvas is then transformed into wearable textiles by a costumier. This practice from initial concept and design to finished product allows me to take my art to the next level by transforming my work from canvas to costume. 

At a time in human history where we face exceptional challenges, people can feel insignificant and powerless. Such emotions have driven me to explore the flip side and create works that embody empowerment, confidence, flamboyance and rebellion. Rebellion is the most genuine human emotional response to an imbalance of power or lack of equilibrium. My work beckons the audience to explore their own hidden emotions and to tap into an alternate reality where they feel freedom to express who they truly are.

As an artist I am constantly inspired by the world around me, it’s colourful characters and different environments; as well as the many rich experiences that have shaped and influenced me. 

My works are the result of my need to create and express what I yearn to see and feel more of in this world. I have a strong desire to be part of and to cultivate a more colourful, unified and vibrant world and to share this with people. My craving of culture and for enriching, nurturing and fun experiences has compelled me to create bright and electrifying works whose imagery is life enhancing, joyful and uplifting.

 After years of abstract painting and exhibiting in galleries, I realised my work needed to leap off the canvas, on to the body, out of the gallery and into the streets. In creating these wearable textiles and showcasing them in a curated scene, I encourage the public to wear a costume and take part in fully expressing themselves: to feel empowered, unafraid of standing out, to reveal their own unique form of rebellion, demanding the change they want to be and see in the world. 

Over the course of my adult life, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of acknowledging and expressing the whakapapa connections I have with Māori culture and to the natural environment of Aotearoa. This has given greater depth to my work, and extended the ideas I aim to represent such as exploring the holistic principles that underlie and connect indigenous cultures throughout the world.

I have forged my own artistic path from a very young age and was exhibiting and selling drawings to the neighbours on our family lounge window at the young age of four. Growing up in an artistic and expressive family led me to train early on with family friend and Wellington artist Juliana Jarvie. Later, my unorthodox visual art training at ‘The Learning Connexionʼ in Wellington allowed me the freedom to delve deep into my own inner self and to reveal an alternate reality through my chosen mediums.

Although painting has been my main stay, over the years my education and training has included a wide range of disciplines, integrating the many genres that make up my unique artistic picture. These include Performing Arts at Otago University, Jazz Singing & Music at Massey School of Music, Contemporary Dance at Unitec School of Performing Arts, Raranga at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa with the Puketapu-Hetet whanau and Textile Print + Design at Ngā Pae Māhutonga, Massey University. These creative achievements combined with the study and practice of holisitc healing modalities such as massage, yoga and permaculture over the years, have helped to birth a highly unique and diverse creative practice.