The book collection has always been what represents home to me (and now to Joe as well, which I love). The books are a constant source of inspiration for our photography + film practice.

Veronica

My dad loved his books and his greatest pleasure was reading. He was always on the deck smoking and drinking coffee with a book. He would read passages out to mum and I constantly, and would make little notes for us of passages or artworks he thought we would like.

I continue to find them when I open up books on the shelf, so it’s like he still chatters away to us.

Dad’s ashes are in the bookshelf! Where the books go, he goes. It’s nice when family + friends come to visit because you can really feel him here.

Mum and dad collected art books my whole life. Dad mainly loved the Renaissance, Modernism and NZ art history (he was an art theorist), while mum loved contemporary art and books on female art dealers (she was one of the first women in NZ to run a dealer gallery).

Dad and I would get mum a book on Sophie Calle for Christmas, so this part of the collection holds special significance for me.

I’m very conscious that art history is filled with and dominated by straight cis white men. We are collecting books by artists who do not fall into that category (as there are enough of those). At the moment we are collecting contemporary fashion photographers – Camille Vivier, Ren Hang, Talia Chetrit, Tyler Mitchell.