Len Wesney, photographer (1946–2017)
Athol McCredie, Curator Photography, reflects on the life of New Zealand photographer Len Wesney.
Te Papa Blog, 17 August 2017
Laurie Ashby. Len Wesney, Piha workshop, 1976. Gelatin silver print. Te Papa (O.044191)
I was stunned and saddened to learn that Christchurch photographer Len Wesney died tragically in a house fire on 14 August 2017. I spent nearly a day with him in February this year and had planned a return visit soon.
Wesney was born in 1946 in Invercargill and was a member of the Southland Photographic Society as a teenager. He shifted to Christchurch to spend a year studying painting at the Canterbury School of Fine Arts (photography wasn’t offered at this time), and then to the UK where he studied photography at the Guildford School of Art 1966–1967.
Len Wesney. Plaster hand, children’s play centre, Christchurch, 1972. Gelatin silver print. Te Papa (O.028079)
In 2019, Len Wesney was included in the book and exhibition The New Photography by Athol McCredie. Click on the photo below to go to a selection of the pictures from the book.