Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. Photo / Jane Ussher
Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. Photo / Jane Ussher
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Jane Ussher was the chief photographer for the New Zealand Listener for 29 years. It was the role that defined her celebrated career; she has been a key player in documenting New Zealand culture through images and is widely considered one of the country’sbest portrait photographers. Now freelance, she has created and curated a series of political portraits for the Listener in the lead-up to the 2023 general election.
Ussher, alongside New Zealand Listener art director Derek Ward, went into the series first and foremost wanting the leaders of the five leading political parties to look unguarded, relaxed, and spontaneous. “That was the driving force – the thing that was most important for me to achieve in all of the portraits,” she says.
Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. Photo / Jane Ussher
Why did you decide to have them sitting on the chairs?
Before they arrived, I had no idea they were going to be wearing what they were. So, once I saw what they were wearing, I decided it would need a slightly more formal framework than them standing together. Those chairs had previously been set up for Marama [Davidson, Green Party co-leader]. I was able to juggle things around and I used exactly the same wall and chairs as for Marama, but with two people in it as opposed to one. It really changed the dynamic.
Their hats and Rawiri’s shoes seem to steal the show.
Who could resist his Nike trainers? And she’s wearing Doc Martens, so they brought a modernity to what could otherwise be perceived as quite colonial outfits. Without their shoes in that photo, it wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting an image.
No, I don’t like directing people at all. In none of the photos from the political portraits am I telling people how to stand or how to look. Once I set up my framework, that’s the end of my direction. What I want is for people to start doing whatever they feel like doing in front of the camera. In some of the Te Pāti Māori photos, they’re talking and discussing things, but this photo is a really strong image. I think the fun and interesting part of it is the disparity between the expressions on their face and what they’re wearing on their feet. That does all the hard work.
