Spy: Kiwi photographer's famous peace mission heading to Ukraine

Society Insider editor·Herald on Sunday·

1 Oct, 2022 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Daryl Hannah. Photo / Supplied

A decade ago, Kiwi artist Stuart Robertson had no idea how to take photographs. He was in New York with a camera, a white silk rose and an idea.

That idea, to photograph 10,000 people holding the rose to encourage a conversation about peace, has now spread across the globe. Robertson has photographed everyone from A-list stars to homeless people holding the rose as part of his Peace in 10,000 Hands project. Now, resurfacing after the pandemic, Robertson is ready to add to the 3500 images he has of people holding that ancient symbol of peace.

His goal is to collect 10,000 of those images in a global art project, all the while asking the subject what peace means to them. A-list stars, including Serena Williams, Emily Blunt, Ricky Gervais, Daryl Hannah, Demi Moore, Danny De Vito, Ringo Starr and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have got behind the peace project.

Kiwis too have supported the project, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, former Governors-General Dame Patsy Reddy and Sir Jerry Mateparae, and Victoria Cross recipient Willie Apiata, Sam Neill, Stan Walker, Tiki Taane and Rena Owen.

But his subjects aren't all famous. He's asked people off the street in different countries, gang members and street people if they will hold the rose of peace while he photographs them. And always he asks what peace means to them.

In 2013, on a trip to San Francisco, the 52-year-old captured the Dalai Lama holding the rose, a photograph he considers his most important.

"No one can relate to the message and embody the movement as much as that picture" Robertson tells Spy.

He has exhibited his rose photos in the US, Australia and in New Zealand resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars raised for chosen charities. His art is often gifted with 100 per cent of sales going to charity.

This week Robertson unveiled his latest collection at Gallery 33 in Freemans Bay, which he tells Spy is now the permanent New Zealand home for his work. He runs his photography business from Queenstown, selling to collectors worldwide to help fund his global peace project.

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are now a part of the movement, selling for up to $5000 while a print can fetch up to $50,000. Robertson also has a base in Los Angeles where he'll be heading next month after a trip to Egypt, adding to his list of 50 countries across all seven continents.

From there he will head to Ukraine before the end of the year, entering through Poland. In both Egypt and Ukraine he will do what he does best, capturing people in their natural environment and asking the question with the rose.

"The answer almost always involves tears," says Robertson.

Ukraine is the first war zone he has taken the rose to and says he will take the visit as it comes. He says he has attracted danger before in more peaceful countries.

After that trip, Robertson will head back to Hollywood where he intends to harness the power of celebrity during the awards ceremony season. On the back of contacts he has made and the esteem in which Peace in 10,000 Hands is now held, he expects to add to his list of A-listers gently holding the white rose.