Welcome

From the ‘of the hill‘ series about settlement in Wellington hills. (image copyright Mary Macpherson)

Bent

I created a special limited edition book of Bent for Photobook New Zealand in March 2016.  For information/orders of the book please go to my website.

Bent was shown at Photospace Gallery, Wellington, NZ, in 2014. Selected Auckland images were also shown at Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland.

Old New World

My touring show Old New World has completed its national tour. Prints are available at Photospace Gallery, Wellington. Old New World is also available as a hardback book, published by Lopdell House Gallery (now Te Uru). For book orders ask your nearest well stocked bookshop or Photospace Gallery.

There’s information about Old New World and its themes on this site.

Interview about my Auckland work

I recently did an interview with Melbourne-based photographer writer Christine McFetridge for Photodust about my evolving Auckland project. Read more

The images can also be viewed on my website

‘The Shops’ proofs arrive home

The sample proofs for Peter Black and Steve Braunias’s The Shops found their way from China to our house. Happily the reproduction looks excellent. There’s also a wonderful personal essay by Steve that reminds me of some of my favorite long Robert Hass poems.

I love the feeling of an abundance that sets of proofs give – all those images before you and the unbeliveablity (is that a word?) that these sheets of paper will fly up and become a book.

Front and back covers for ‘The Shops’. A special shout out to Katrina Duncan for the great design.

 

 

Peter Black books underway

More book excitement in the household.

The Shops, the book that Peter Black is doing with Steve Braunias of Luncheon Sausage Press just went off to China for proofing and printing. The work features 44 of Peter’s colour photographs of shops and a great personal memoir/essay from Steve. This hardback book will be a cracker – just in time for Christmas.

Greytown – one of my favourite images from The Shops.

 

And back today from binding in Petone, was Peter’s beautiful handmade orange book of original prints, Blessed. The work features people crossing the intersection of Queen and Wellesley Streets in Auckland, in the operatic evening light. As well as being an interesting conceptual piece, it throws light on the demographics of Auckland via the main street.

 

A few animals

A few photographic things from today and yesterday.

Been looking at William Eggleston’s portraits book – realised how much of a role fabric plays in some of his great images. And how strange bodies can look encased in fabric.

And talking of fabric I finished stitching my Medical Daydreams Photobooks – by the end I was down to one book per two and a half songs.

Then there are these few images from the phone that seemed to be talking to each other

Wellington (images copyright Mary Macpherson)

 

Urban Landscapes from the 1980s on show

I was stoked recently to have my work featured on the BNZ Heritage Art Collection site (right under Megan Jeninkson and above Colin McCahon!). The three images are from my Urban Landscapes series of the 1980s and were brought for the Collection by the late Peter McLeavey. At the time I’d been excited by seeing books like Uncommon Places by Stephen Shore and American Prospects by Joel Sternfeld, and wanted to apply this sophisticated, nuanced approach to photographing the everyday environment in my own work.

The nice people at the BNZ were concerned to have good reproductions of the work for their website, which gave me an opportunity to have some quality scans done. It was great to reprise some old favourites like this image from Featherston. I’ve also printed contemporary archival inkjet prints of the three images, which are on show at Photospace Gallery in Courtney Place. If you are in Wellington do call in and check them out.

Featherston 1985 (image copyright Mary Macpherson)

Medical Daydreams cover

Exciting times – the first folded proof of my new photobook Medical Daydreams arrived home. The beautiful watermelon pink cover was designed by Spencer Levine, who’s had many an idea for refinements that take the book to another level.

My special challenge this weekend is to stitch the binding with linen thread. Gulp. Will there be a gap between that easy peasy video and my daydreams?

Medical Daydreams on the way

Got my awl and my linen thread with the beeswax, and a miniature proof of my new photographic book Medical Daydreams. Now all I need is a final visit to Spencer the designer to agree the proofs for the inside photos and to get the books printed (small but important detail).

Then my career as a bookbinder will begin – better watch that video again….

All set to Daydream

New book

Very excited to have received the designs for my new book Medical Daydreams from designer Spencer Levine. It’s unusual for me to be working with a designer so there’s anticipation and a lovely slight sense of shock at seeing someone else’s interpretation of your work (even if you did give a brief). But pink, green and yellow are my colours!

The work is from my iPhone photographs and I’ve taken it as an excuse to be someone-else as a photographer. A combination of romance and crime writer, perhaps?

More to come …