Whakaari / White Island

Whakaari / White Island

Mark Purdom + Moving Image: Paul Nelson, Sound: Kent Macpherson

Studio 541
541 Mt Eden Road, Auckland

31 May - 8 June 2019

​Opening night: 31 May, 6:00pm

Part of the Auckland Festival of Photography​

Mark Purdom: Untitled (Whakaari/White Island)

Part of the Fissure theme - Auckland Festival of Photography 2019 as a digital presentation.

Whakaari / White Island, Artists - Mark Purdom, Paul Nelson and Kent Macpherson collaborate on an audio-visual work titled Whakaari/White Island, which pays homage to the majesty of the active volcano. A study of the physicality and brutality of the place by examining the tiniest of parts.

Mark Purdom’s photographic work, while a commentary on people’s influence on the environment, also plays with our concept or arguably our preconceptions of the picturesque. Mark is originally from England and since moving to New Zealand, he has participated in various group and solo exhibitions at home and internationally.

Purdom is recognised for his work by the New Zealand National Contemporary Art Awards, Renaissance Photography Prize, Association of Photographers UK, Royal Photographic Society, International Photography Awards, New Zealand Photobook of the Year and the Portrait Salon Awards UK.  Recently he has exhibited at the Athens Photography Festival - Greece, Month of Photography - Los Angeles USA, I Book Show - Taiga Gallery, St Petersburg, Russia, J Book Show - Cork Photo Festival, Ireland, Singapore International Festival of Photography and the Xian Art Museum, China.

Mark studied for his Masters Photography at the University of Brighton, England.  He is a lecturer at the School of Media Arts, Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, New Zealand.