Spirit

Oil on Canvas, 180 x 119 cm, 2026

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In creating Spirit, I first asked my father, who has passed, what to paint. I was then shown by the clouds in the sky, forms of horses. I thanked my father and went back to my art studio and began. I wanted to capture this transformative experience by painting this vision, a connection between my father and me. 

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I viscerally paint upon the surface, creating a harmonic illusion of colour and movement. My use of colour and way of gestural mark-making convey the vibrating force of energy that runs through us, capturing the essence of the natural human experience.

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Interconnectedness depicted in a herd of Horses explores the belief that the spirit is infinite. The Orange horse holds primary position within the sky, watching over the herd that surrounds him, symbolizing my father, who has passed on. His energy has transformed, and the light of him is carried through each figure, expressing how even though he is not here in the physical world, he is still present within our everyday experience as we are all one with the universe. 

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From the sky to the land, the herd of horses that are in between emphasize this vibrating field of energy that links Ao Mārama (Physical World) and Ira Atua (spirit realm). When I think about this, I am reminded of Alan Watts, a British-American author and Lecturer who explored philosophical ideas about the universe around us. He states, ‘You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.’  Spirit shares with you this law of divine oneness, serving as a meditation on interconnectedness between nature and the spirit. Everything changes with everything, and as vibrating fields of energy, energy can never die, only transform.