Mark Adams: A Survey -- He Kohinga Whakaahua

Mark Adams is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s foremost photographers. His focus on Samoan tatau, Maori-Pakeha interactions in Rotorua, carved meeting houses, locations of significance for Ngai Tahu in Te Waipounamu, and Captain James Cook’s landing sites reflect his deep engagement with our postcolonial and Pacific histories.

This first-ever comprehensive survey of his work honours one of our most distinguished -- and continually compelling -- photographers. It includes photographs taken across the Pacific, the United Kingdom and Europe that explore the migration of artistic and cultural practices across the globe, and examine the role of museums, and photography itself, in this dynamic and ongoing cross-cultural exchange.

Dr Sarah Farrar is head of curatorial and learning at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. She is a curator and art historian whose research focuses on contemporary art, curatorial activism and the complexities of cross-cultural exchange. Her recent curatorial projects include the exhibition Taimoana Coastlines: Art in Aotearoa, with Cameron Ah Loo-Matamua, Dr Jane Davidson-Ladd and Nathan Pohio, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, 2024- 26; and the retrospective exhibition Robin White: Te Whanaketanga Something Is Happening Here, co-curated with Dr Nina Tonga. Mark Adams was born in Linwood, Otautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, in 1949. He studied at Ilam School of Fine Arts, University of Christchurch (graduating in 1970), where he taught himself large-format analogue photography. Since then, he has photographed all over the country focusing on the cultural convergences of postcolonial Aotearoa New Zealand, its landscapes and its people. He is notable for his groundbreaking work photographing Samoan tatau practices and revisiting sites of historical importance in Aotearoa New Zealand.