A Moment to Hold with Ruby Wilkinson
Photographed by Ophelia Jones with support from The Black & White Box.
In the spirit of A Moment to Hold, this series pauses to capture a point in the lives and careers of three artists whose works feature in the exhibition—Ruby Wilkinson, Hannah Ireland & brunelle dias. Photographed by Ophelia Jones and paired with reflections on their practice, the series gently spotlights the artists as they are now, while preserving this moment as part of the exhibition’s archive.
This interview series was kindly supported by The Black & White Box.
February 7 2026Ruby Wilkinson
“The physicalities of my painting — marks, form, colours, and compositions — are in constant dialogue with notions of my mental — feelings, memories, gestures, time, and place. I am interested in how these concepts can be translated visually; how gestures of the heart can be rendered into gestures of the hand.”
Tell us a little about your background as an artist. How has your practice evolved to where it is now?
I grew up surrounded by ceramic sculptures made by my grandfather, Don Thornley, and abstract paintings by his brother, Geoff Thornley. Being around their work embedded a deep appreciation of colour, form and gesture in me from a very young age.
Before I became an artist, I was training to become a contemporary dancer. I am fascinated by ways we can communicate sensation, feeling and phenomena when words become restrictive.
I think my painting is constantly shifting alongside the pace of the world. This can be physically observed by my application of paint. The paintings are taking longer to make, with more layers hiding and revealing “ghost” paintings underneath.
I guess with my work Parade, I experienced a completely new way of painting, stepping back from my typical medium of choice — oil paint on canvas. Instead, using the fluidity and immediacy of fabric dye and acrylics on unstretched calico.
I am always open to exploring different methods of communicating through painting mediums, movement and grounds.
A Moment to Hold is shaped by memory and lived experience. How does painting influence the way you remember or understand moments from your life?
The physicalities of my painting — marks, form, colours, and compositions — are in constant dialogue with notions of my mental — feelings, memories, gestures, time, and place. I am interested in how these concepts can be translated visually; how gestures of the heart can be rendered into gestures of the hand. Painting has this ability to affix multiple phenomena onto canvas, which is why I am drawn to this medium.
A recent visual recording of my life timeline can be seen through my use of colour. My exhibition ‘Birding’ is very much reminiscent of the Pōneke evening light. When I was working on these paintings, I was working from a studio in Vivian Street, with high ceilings and windows and a great view of the sky. Whereas Parade at The Arts House Trust is so very much Northland skies and heat.
My surroundings always end up embedded in my work in some way or another, something that I believe is a given with having an intuitive painting practice. Paintings require latency to be perceived; one’s response to a painting will change over time. My perspective on paintings, old and new, is always being impacted by the world around me; it is never still.
Tell us about your works featured in A Moment to Hold. How do they relate to ideas of memory, are they born from specific memories?
Parade was created during my time in the scallop room at the Whangārei Arts Quarry. I spent a lot of time at the quarry and at Whangārei Heads growing up. The panels were painted on the studio floor, which allowed me to directly document the physicality of the land underneath and the weight of my body above.
Parade is very much reminiscent of that fleeting feeling of witnessing a sunset. Hesitant to look away and miss the descent of the day (the green flash).
The title Parade is also a nod to the planet parade that was occurring during the making of this work. I was living with my Dad at the time, and we were constantly talking about the rare planetary alignment that was happening in February 2025. Parades involving 6-7 planets in formation only ever occur every few decades.
Making Parade was a way for me to reckon with the idea of things larger than life, things that are difficult to comprehend and my physical and mental ties to these phenomena.
Who is the you of now, both as an artist and a person? What would you like to remember about this moment in time?
I am very much emerging into my artistic career. I feel a strong pull towards being in the studio Monday to Friday at the moment and have been making sacrifices to do so. I think it’s a really exciting time to be a female painter in Aotearoa, and even to be on the fringe of that discussion is exhilarating.
In a few weeks, I am about to relocate to Naarm to study my MFA at Victoria College of Arts. I look forward to having some dedicated time to delve into the realm of academia and making again.
Right now, there is political unrest across the world and a strong need for activism, creativity and kindness.
FREE PALESTINE
FREE IRAN
FREE LEBANON
ICE OUT
&
TOITŪ TE TIRITI
Ruby Wilkinson is represented by Jhana Millers Gallery.
A Moment to Hold is on view at The Arts House Trust 20 November 2025 – 1 March 2026
Hannah Ireland, brunelle dias, and Ruby Wilkinson. February 2026.
