Alicia
Courtney

Courtney began to learn Maori tikanga through spending time at Hoani Waititi Marae and became involved with Maori material culture, contributing to her search for a balance of respecting the technology of Te Ao Tawhito (traditional Maori life and customs) with the necessity of living in Te Ao Hurihuri (the contemporary world).

Inspired by Maori and Pacific methods and traditions as well as her fashion and couture background, Courtney went on to create adornment pieces. Whilst these works have the integrity and beauty of traditional taonga, they are also contemporary, wearable and traverse the boundaries of jewellery, art and craft. More recently Courtney has developed larger object-based works.

An exhibiting artist since 1996, Courtney has worked in collaboration with the Pacific Sisters, is represented in many private collections, and has shown work in various public and dealer galleries throughout New Zealand and overseas. Inspired by traditional Maori methods, Courtney works only with renewable resources. She always acknowledges her Maori and Pacific influences and from these has developed a contemporary, multicultural aesthetic that is all her own.