Shellie Hanley ARTIST
Welcome
Kia Ora, greetings and welcome.
My name is Shellie Hanley and I am a New Zealand–based artist of Māori and Danish whakapapa, living in the Manawatū. I explore the mysteries of nature, history, heritage, and cultural memory through visual storytelling.
My ideas are expressed through various forms of wetplate and digital photography, traditional forms and mediums; sketching, painting, collage, mixed media and digital collage and animation. I compose music for harp, voice, classical instruments, and Taonga Pūoro.
I weave nature, sound, and projection mapping into one, creating multi-sensory immersive art installations and performances.
About Me
My Creative Biography – from Lens to Light
My creative path began at the age of eight, when my mother placed a small orange Time Magazine 110 camera in my hands, a moment that sparked a lifelong exploration of storytelling through the camera lens. For over twenty years, I worked as a newspaper and magazine photographer in Wellington, building a freelance career with publications including The Evening Post, The Dominion Art Page, and the Hutt News. My practice was grounded in sports photography, portraiture, photojournalism, and documentary work.
From 1997 to 2000, I served as the official Parliamentary Portrait Photographer, following three years as a sports photographer under the mentorship of renowned All Blacks photographer Peter Bush. During this time, I established a portrait studio within Parliament, photographing Members of Parliament and visiting dignitaries. This experience refined my eye for portraiture, documentary photography and the recording of historic moments.
I was selected as a scholarship recipient for the Missouri Photo Workshop in the United States, training alongside international participants under the guidance of National Geographic photographers and editors. This experience deepened my approach to visual storytelling, strengthening my ability to work under pressure while capturing the emotional truth within each image.
Upon returning to New Zealand, I was invited by Jim Moriarty to document the lives of fifteen women serving life sentences at Christchurch Women’s Prison, a confronting and deeply human project. This body of work was later invited for exhibition by the Dowse Art Museum and Gallery. My photographic work has been held in the permanent collection of Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand since 1999.
In recent years, I have returned to the tactile and contemplative processes of early photography through wet plate collodion, working with large format cameras to explore historic techniques, materiality, and the poetic possibilities of analogue image making.
In May 2025, I presented Huia Bird Portraits in my debut exhibition at Caccia Birch House in Palmerston North, reimagining Heteralocha acutirostris, the extinct Huia, through a Victorian floral romantic lens. This body of original artwork brought together fine art photography, digital collage, pencil drawing, and gouache painting mediums, forming a tribute to the grace and enduring beauty of the Huia.
At the centre of my current practice is Te Huia, A Visual Sound Portrait, a major collaborative visual sound installation set to premiere in late 2026. This evolving work weaves together a composed Huia dawn chorus incorporating Huia and native bird calls, harp, voice, classical instrumentation, and Taonga Pūoro, alongside projection mapped imagery to create an immersive multi sensory experience. Performance dates and event location details will be announced on this website closer to the premiere.
For general inquiries, print sales, exhibitions, or to just say hello… please contact me via the form below.
Kindest Regards Shellie 🌺😊