Jae Frew
Kōtare No.3
Photograph on Hahnemuhle German Etching Paper
1300 x 1000 mm
Limited edition of 5
Further Editions Available (see 'About this Artwork' below)
This artwork is a limited edition of 5. While edition #1 is sold, please contact the Parnell Gallery team if you are interested in one of the remaining available editions of this artwork.
‘Kōtare No.3’ by Jae Frew. Frew presents this striking photograph, framed, in a limited edition of five.
In ‘Kōtare No.3,’ the much-admired Kingfisher is captured in exquisite detail, its plumage a shimmering cascade of blues and greens softened with touches of bronze and white. Feathers appear almost painterly in texture; tactile and luminescent. With its head turned in quiet recognition, holding a serene yet watchful expression, poised, an eye cast back toward the viewer, Frew has captured the keen observational character our kōtare is renowned for.
Through his portrait, Frew elevates the kōtare beyond its physical form to its rightful place as a revered taonga or ancestor, urging us to treasure and protect what remains of our native species and the fragile ecosystems they depend upon.
Artist Bio
Jae Frew is a leading contemporary portrait photographer living in Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland.
Through his collection of photographic portraits in Manu Koingo – Birds of Yearning, Frew pays tribute to New Zealand’s extinct and endangered native wildlife, bringing together his in-depth knowledge of portraiture with a lifelong interest in birds, and fervour for creating objects with wood.
The formal, fine-art style of Frew’s large-scale portraits of birds, with their darkened Victorian backgrounds and heavy wooden frames, calls to mind the solemn dignity of 19th century portraiture, a symbol of status that the subject was beloved, important, or revered. By framing his subject in grand, bespoke frames, Frew further elevates the status of each bird to that of our ancestors. While reminiscent of a vanished era, the photographs offer a reminder to treasure and protect what remains in the present. This emphasis on elevation of status speaks to the sense of importance and urgency that Frew feels for the preservation of our native species of birds and forest life.