The artist started to work on what can be described as a marvellous piece of memorabilia, last year, when she found one of her nan’s photo albums during a family dinner.
“I was like ‘Oh my God . . . this is the funniest picture ever’ and I spoke to my dad who pointed out that it was taken at the marae, which was fascinating.”
Although she misses her late grandfather (Ruka Tupara) and uncle Libby Kerr who recently passed away, she said it was cool to see her tīpuna so young.
Recalling an earlier conversation with her late papa Libby, Jody said after she had finished her painting and showed it to her uncle, he filled her in with all the joyous memories of how mischievous they were back in the day.
“That’s what I tried to capture in my painting . . . the happy youthful days.
“The funny thing in the painting is that unlike the original photograph, I have added the crayfish to it.
“I have had a good laugh with my papa Libby who was like ‘where did the crayfish come from cause the bowl was empty?’. And he went on about the times when my grandfather was a chef and told stories about him and his cookhouse.”
Jody said she was eager to send her artwork to the awards after she saw the advertisement in 2021.
Back then, she was hesitant to display her work after she felt intimidated by the mesmerising artwork exhibited by other renowned artists.
“To put myself in the league of such talented artists felt scary and I thought that if I was to enter, I had better put up my best work to date. This year, it was the same story . . . except my dad who pushed me to go for it said, ‘You need to take the risk and tell our story’. So I did exactly that.”
For the emerging artist, this will be her first out of town exhibition.
In her career as an artist she has participated in a few local exhibitions, mostly as a student at Te Wananga o Aotearoa.
Jody said she was always interested in art as a kid.
“When I was four years old my teachers were once impressed by the way I drew a horse. Then I started to copy pictures from my dad’s magazines and just learnt by looking and sketching.
“Art actually runs quite deep through our family veins. My dad is a really good artist and my godfather Nick Tupara is also a renowned local artist.”
Jody started out as a sketch artist. While still studying art in 2021, Jody was introduced to acrylic paint — a style she didn’t feel was “right for her”.
Later that year she found herself drawn to oil paint, which she describes as having “a realistic finish and easier to work with”.
All of her artworks are inspired by stories from her Maori culture, she says.
“I genuinely enjoy painting portraits of my whānau and friends.”
Although her papa Libby’s tangi is on the same day as the awards ceremony, her family encouraged her by saying that her uncle would want her to go to the ceremony.
The winning artworks were announced yesterday and the exhibition will be shown at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakata in Shed 11 on Wellington’s waterfront from today to Sunday August 20. Entry is free. Finalists’ artworks will then tour the country.
