Conor Clarke

YEAR OF RESIDENCY
September - December 2026

Conor Clarke (Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāi Tahu – Ngāti Kurī, Irish, and Welsh) is a Ōtautahi Christchurch-based contemporary artist, photographer, and lecturer whose practice explores our relationship with the living world, ecology, and landscape.

Through a range of lenses and imaging techniques, she captures life, energy, and messaging often imperceptible to the human eye - revealing barely perceptible or overlooked aspects of wild places both near and far from home. Recently, Conor’s practice has focused on endemic and endangered birdlife, particularly the Kaikōura tītī (Hutton's shearwater). These mountain-dwelling seabirds, which navigate by stars, scent, and instinct, inform and enrich her own approach to knowledge gathering and art-making.

Conor has received numerous awards and residencies and exhibited in both public and private galleries across Aotearoa. Her work is held in a number of public collections, including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, and Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Conor holds a Master of Fine Arts with first class honours from Ilam School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury, where she also works as a lecturer in photography.

UPCOMING
01.01.26
Parehuia turns 20, poster project