DUTCHIES:                    March 2007               Oamaru stone 500mm         

My parents emigrated to New Zealand in 1952,settling in Ashburton, along with myself (aged 4) and sister Marianne (aged 1). Right from the start they chose to fully integrate into the NZ way of life. After a very full life, eight children, 23 changes of house, eleven grandchildren and a growing number of great-grandchildren, Mum and Dad finally settled in Aroha Rest Home in the Hutt Valley where they were able to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary. Mum died not long afterwards. “ Dutchies” now sits in the garden outside Dad’s window.

The work captures the lifetime of commitment of my parents to each-other, through the good and the bad, and celebrates both their origin and their life together.