After seeing an exhibition of wood cut and screen print works in 2012 in Rio de Janeiro by one of Brazil's most established contemporary artists, Beatriz Milhazes, I was compelled to develop a wood cut suite which connected with my Brazilian heritage and her work. I had already developed a set of prints with references to the aesthetic vocabulary proposed works by New Zealand Painter Gordon Walters for my first suite of prints. Now wanted to create a works which pulled from a Tropicalia palette and referenced the forms within Beatriz Milhazes' works. 

 

I researched geometric shapes and refined a vivid palette. It was important for me to connect these prints to my earlier suite of prints, and I wanted to keep the Tui and Fantails as part of the compositions. This suite would be a hybrid of references and cultures, much like the experiences I'd had coming from Brazil and growing up in New Zealand. 

 

The resulting collection of hand carved and hand printed wood blocks were printed with the intention of being joyful and whimsical works. I wanted them to be universally accessible in their light-heartedness and simplicity. They can be understood as much in New Zealand as they can be in Brazil and present a mish-mash of cultural references.