Graduated Wellington Polytechnic School of Design in 1977; Master of Design (distinction), Massey University, 2012.
Rosemary prints discarded found materials to explore the disposable nature of consumption, and obsession.
Her work has been exhibited widely in solo and group shows, including the Goodman Suter Biennale, Wellington City Art Gallery, Pataka Porirua, Rotorua Bathhouse Museum, and the Pacific Rim International Print Exhibition (University of Canterbury, 2013).
She has won a number awards, including the BNZ Award for Printmaking, the 34th Mini Print International of Cadaqués, followed by a solo exhibition (Spain, 2015), and selected as a finalist for the Hutchins Art Prize (Aus), New Grounds (New Mexico) and the National Printmaking Exhibition (NZ).
In 2021 her large work, 'Nest Ōtaki', was selected for the Inkmasters exhibition in Cairns, Australia.
This year she is a finalist in the prestigious Parkin Award with an even larger nest, 'Fragile Worlds'.
Rosemary has taught at the former Wellington Polytechnic School of Design (Massey University), Whitireia Polytechnic, Inverlochy Art School, and takes workshops for organisations including the PCANZ (The Print Council of Aotearoa New Zealand).
‘Making prints from the detritus of nature and industry, allows me to embrace the discarded without being outed as a hoarder’.
The abandoned nests I print in my Te Horo studio, incorporate diverse materials. Building waste, horsehair, baling twine, hay, feathers… the birds use whatever they can find in their local environment.
In this process there is no drawing, no plate, the nests are printed unaltered. Oily ink manipulated directly into the fragile construction records its gradual disintegration through the printmaking process.
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