The Gallery, Ngahuru Autumn 2024

Winging It, by Ahuriri Napier-based femmage artist and secondary-school teacher Ashton Lexie Jamieson, mixed media collage, 42cmx 42cm.

“The word ‘femmage’ dates back to the seventies and describes art made with materials and processes traditionally used by women,” Ashton says. “My current series is formed from a growing collection of collage pieces that are delicately extracted from preloved books and magazines that I hunt for in expeditions to local op-shops. Often these materials find me. I have come to see each tiny piece of paper as a precious artefact that embodies its own history; when curated with other pieces, conversations and new stories are instigated. In my savoured moments of creating, it’s as if the collage assembles itself."