About the Artist
Mary McFarlane developed a strong following for her transformations of mirrors, especially vintage pieces, into glimmering artworks full of mystery and memory, intensely personal to herself and to the viewer, created using her unique, evolved techniques.
Some centre on the Waterfall motif, founded in trips to Fiordland throughout her life; these connect to New Zealand’s history of contemporary art from William Hodges’ 18th Century Fiordland paintings through to Colin McCahon’s influence on the waterfall becoming part of our visual identity. She is also known for her acclaimed Moon series, based on the feeling the full moon inspires, full of portent; at times this has segued into a series of ‘sunshower’ works, initially inspired by a glimmering sunshower at the time of a significant family event. Her actual process, working into the back of vintage mirrors, remains as mysterious as the moons themselves, as David Eggleton described in a review in Art New Zealand: ‘McFarlane has learnt how to endow her mirrors with magic, alluding to the aura of inner beauty, to the dark side of the self.’
