Holli McEntegart
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Investigating notions of the self and identity as it is expressed in the home, Holli McEntegart's photographic practice canbe aptly described as one that is orientated towards the capturing of a 'domestic geography'. McEntegart seeks to break in to that most sacred of spaces - the one place in the world where an individual can feel free to express themselves as they truly are - the home. Hence, McEntegart's work weaves a narrative that is equal parts humour and drama and one which succeeds in unearthing the intimate details that construct the identity of the home.
The sense of cinematic composition, choreographed scene setting and attention to detail strike parallels to McEntegart's film-making practice. With these filmic qualities, McEntegart transforms her photography into storytelling, using private interiors as the set upon which homely dramas are enacted. In thoseworks in which McEntegart focuses wholly on the setting and not thescene, it is the absence of the human element that
allows the qualities of those settings - the texture of dated fabrics or the quirkiness of a repeating wallpaper motifetc - to come to the fore, as if to make light of those guilty little secrets that pervade our homes - the things that we love todeath, but don't necessarily want anyone else to see.
McEntegart's practice is built upon early studies towards aBachelor of Visual Arts and later, a Bachelor of Design majoring inPhotography from Unitec in Auckland. She has shown in group exhibitions in Auckland and Chile and in 2005, her work was published in Bright Young Things - Works By Emerging NewZealand Artists. In 2007 she gained an Honourable Mention for herwork at Europe's most prestigious photography competition, Prix de la Photographie Paris. She is now basedin Auckland and continues to produce and exhibit photographicwork.