Kiwi Ana

Title: Kiwi Ana
Edition: Limited edition of 50
Medium: Giclée print
Paper size: 38.4 x 50.5 cm
Image size: 32.1 x 44.1 cm

Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit fervour aside, I’m not generally known for my rampant patriotism or love of things New Zealand, but I do appreciate the kitsch and the nostalgic; ‘Kiwi Ana’ was my solution to the problem of what to paint for an exhibition that had a NZ theme (I’m sure everyone apart from landscape painters and that particular niche of artist who enjoy making portraits of All Blacks cringes every time such a theme rears its head).

Channelling JH Lynch (you may not know the name, but you’d probably recognise his ubiquitous paintings of retro lasses on black velvet), and seeking to capture a 1960s, straight-out-of-a-NZ-tearoom kind of vibe, ‘Kiwi Ana’ takes on a number of NZ pop cultural motifs. From the iconic to the edible, the natural world to the decorative, and with a sneaky tattooed homage to the work of one of my favourite NZ artists, Gordon Walters, the image is a lowbrow tribute to a NZ culture that is fondly remembered/imagined.

All of its elements have some sort of personal connection or significance in my own life; for instance, I had to find a way to get the NZ ten cent piece in there, because when I was a kid I refused to be paid in anything other than ‘butterfly money.’ Later I had it explained to me that my butterfly was actually a Maori tiki, but by that time I had probably moved on to ten dollar notes anyway…

You might call her tacky or you might call her timeless - she’ll take either as a compliment – but Ana is proud of her Kiwi kitsch heritage and would love to take pride of place on your wall right next to the flying ducks.

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All my works are printed on Epson Watercolour art paper using archival quality inks.

Your print will be unframed, packaged in a cardboard mailing tube and sent via Fastway Couriers, which takes 1-3 days for delivery. I'll mail the package within 3 working days of your payment clearing.

If you'd like to purchase more than one print at a time, not only will you make me extra happy, but you won't pay any extra shipping costs - it's all free within New Zealand. Woop woop!