The quintessential Aotearoa New Zealand summer is defined by the outdoors.
The sounds of cicadas chirping and pōhutukawa gently swaying in the breeze become the soundtrack of our days.
Everything is bolder, brighter, and more beautiful when the sun shines. Whether we’re at the beach, on the boat, or making the most of balmy summer evenings at home, us Kiwis love nothing more than immersing ourselves in the beauty of nature and soaking up as much of the summer as we can. These magic moments, however memorable, are fleeting. Perhaps this is why they’re so precious; why we don’t want them to end.
We fill our smartphone camera rolls with an infinite number of selfies and videos capturing these moments, attempting to make them last forever. In the palm of our hand, there is something to hold onto and look back on when our tans have faded. But what do we do with all these images? Generally, not much. They remain trapped in our devices.
This is where original photographic artworks come into their own. As skilled as we may be at recording the sights, sounds and celebrations of our summer holidays, we will never be able to frame the shot or distill the essence of the air, light, time and space the way an artist can.
British-born, Pōneke Wellington-based photographer Virginia Woods-Jack is an artist who does this, and more. One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most successful yet under the radar photographic artists, Woods-Jack has forged her award-winning career on her ability to see beyond what is in front of her camera lens and penetrate deeply into the atmospheric essence of the subject itself. It is this ability that has led to her work being collected and exhibited internationally, as well as here in Aotearoa. Her work has also appeared in Harper’s magazine, the Guardian and Time magazine, amongst others.
All of Woods-Jack’s photographic works possess an intimate, meditative quality that makes you want to return to them again and again. There is something eerily familiar in them – a remnant of a perfect yet just out of reach daydream. Each work takes you on a shared imaginative and reflective journey. Through her artist’s eye, rivers dance and shimmer. Verdant lush bush resonates a calm, eternal energy. Moments of play and the everydayness of life are elevated, and the memories of summer become truly everlasting. To learn more about Virginia Woods-Jack’s photographic practices and see more of her artworks, visit artfull.co.nz.
