Kaitiaki Guardian Series - Shedwing

Shedwing begins with an ordinary botanical form, a ponytail palm growing beside an old shed, and transforms it into something unexpected.

Through mirroring, layering and digital manipulation, the leaves become an expansive wing-like structure suspended in darkness. At its centre, a quiet, almost human presence emerges, suggesting something watching, holding or protecting.

The work reflects the idea of kaitiakitanga — guardianship, care and the responsibility to protect what surrounds us. Here, the familiar natural world is no longer simply observed; it becomes a symbolic presence.

Shedwing is part of the Kaitiaki Series, a collection exploring the possibility of guardians hidden within the natural forms around us. Each work begins with an observed fragment of the landscape or everyday environment and is transformed into an imagined guardian, somewhere between botanical form, spirit, memory and apparation.