KEVIN CAPON

Kevin Capon's photographs have an "uncanny quality, a subtle and disturbing strangeness that seems inexplicable"

John Hurrell, writer/editor for EyeContact website, Aotearoa New Zealand.

Mokau, North Taranaki, Aotearoa New Zealand. Email: capon@capon.co.nz

Read Biography

My website is now on hold while I mourn Carol's passing.

Carol Te Teira Capon

Born 27 September 1958, died 3 October 2025

My love Carol has died, her tupapaku was laid to rest in her whanau urupa at Kamate near Mōkau in North Taranaki which overlooks her maunga Taranaki, her awa Waitara, and the resting place of her waka Tokumaru.

Carol Te Teira of Te Ati Awa and Ngai Tahu descent was buried next to her great grandfather Wharemaru Ihakara Te Teira. Carol is the daughter of Te Wanikau Totara Taylor of Māori origin, and Monica Glentworth of Irish origin. She is survived by her husband Kevin Capon, her daughters Koha Ki Te Whenua Te Teira Capon and Daisy Capon, and her mokopuna Carlos and Emi.

Carol requested that Kevin say the final words for her at the Tangi, in accordance with ancient māori Lore her tapu whakapaku was recited. This was Kevin's gift to Carol and her whanau who had been deprived of this knowledge through the process of colonisation.

Kevin then paid a personal tribute to Carol, the following is a copy of this 2nd part of the Whaikōrero. After which Carol's pou was thrust into the whenua.

Quote from Carol: "I got everything I wanted, a family, a home, in a place I love, so I was

happy."

To my dearest friend and beautiful wife, you will always be precious to me

"From the moment we met in our late teens, that is 49 years ago until now, we have been best friends and inseparable partners with lives filled with moments of great conversation and joy, and, at times immense struggle and pain, such is life. We together have experienced so many things, we have visited many places overseas and travelled extensively throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, we have come to understand this land and each other in a most intimate way, and we have worked hard to hold onto and follow our dreams.

You are from a good family with good values who would help anyone in need, you have given your all to your siblings, soaking up their pain, and been at times their whipping girl. You have loved our girls and our grandchildren to the very highest order of maternal love, you are an outstanding mother in every way making tough calls when necessary in order to instil strength and good values within them. You have withstood tremendous hurt and made great sacrifices for the ones you love, asking for nothing more than to be loved in return.

You were fiercely private and moved quietly in the world displaying great strength with eyes that shone with love. You were selfless, modest in your requirements, kind and compassionate, tremendously loyal, and steadfast in your beliefs. You knew your own mind, and were quietly determined, delightfully resistant, and at times impatient and stubborn.

You were a vigorous debater with brutally honesty views always questioning and challenging others, especially when it came to confronting bigotry and racism within the world. You had a keen interest in indigenous cultures with a healthy disregard for European religion which was used in the cultural assimilation of Māori. Our conversations would often revolve around this intersection between Māori and Pakiha values.

You stood strong in your Tikanga, and you wore your Ta Moko on the inside, you were un-swayed by those with power and procession, you were never intimidated by others even when we became the targets of racial hatred in our community. You were intolerant of weakness and held others, including your loved ones accountable for their actions. You did not hand out praise, nor did you seek it.

Carol, you were beautiful as a young girl, and you grew to be a beautiful wise Māori woman, and together we reclaimed your Maoritanga which has changed my thinking forever. We created a beautiful home here in Mōkau, with a garden full of colour, and you inspired us with your wonderful meals, made of pure love. Our home became a stage where ordinary happenings and events manifested into photographic artworks. You were my harshest critique and a key influence in my work.

This life is miraculous, but it is equally merciless, you did not flinch in the face of death when inflicted by the cruel and relentless Motor Neuron Disease which tried to take everything, even our love, but it failed, and you retained your dignity right to the very end.

Carol you have served your family in every way possible until the day you could no longer stand, and it has been my great honour to do the same for you, and now my love, it is time for you to go forth through Rarohenga on your journey back to 'Puanga' your ancestral star, and beyond, and you take our love into eternity.

Goodbye my love."

To my website visitors

My love Carol is dying

so I need to care for her

I will be back

I just don't know when

KC. 3/6/2024

Untitled

Pigment ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 507 x 605mm

.Edition of 12

Burnt out truck, Mokau Road (SH3)

Digital Chromogenic print, 304 x 405mm

Edition of 8

Tear drops, Mokau

Digital Chromogenic print, 451 x 601mm

Edition of 10

Hallway, Mokau

Digital Chromogenic print, 290 x 443mm

Edition of 8

Falling beads

Digital Chromogenic print, 608 x 811mm

Edition of 12

The breathing tube (46-year anniversary photograph, 2023)

Digital Chromogenic print, 608 x 811mm

Edition of 12

Sun lamp

Digital Chromogenic print, 304 x 254mm

Edition of 12

Stress Ball 2023

Digital Chromogenic print, 304 x 254mm

Edition of 12

Weather Station (Garni 2INT)

Digital Chromogenic print, 253 x 190mm

Edition of 12

My house is leaking, 2022-23

Pigment Ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 256 x 171mm

Edition of 8

Bird droppings Mitsubishi, 2023

Digital Chromogenic print, 608 x 811mm

Edition of 8

Why is it so dark in here J. Nicephore Niepce, 2023

Pigment Ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 304 x 443mm

Edition of 10

Pants down and the peasant dress, 2022

Digital Chromogenic prints each 177 x 118mm

Tainui Street

Pigment Ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 127 x 191mm

Edition of 12

The bathing cap.

Digital Chromogenic print, 405 x 540mm

Edition of 8

Untitled

Pigment Ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 254 x 185mm

Edition of 12

The girl with knitted gloves, 2021

Pigment Ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, found image 254 x 185mm

Edition of 12

Gem stones, 2021

Digital Chromogenic print, 304 x 405mm

Edition of 8

The legend of Scotty's blindness, 2022

Digital Chromogenic prints, Triptych each image is 304 x 303mm.

Edition of 12

The Colin McCahon Muriwai Studio Floor we own

is featured in

The Bank of New Zealand Art Collection Catalogue by Webb’s

This catalogue is co-edited by Hamish Coney, Robert Leonard and Julian McKinnon, and includes content from leading New Zealand art writers, curators and art historians, including Peter Simpson, Jill Trevelyan, Tina Barton, Ian Wedde, Linda Tyler, Martin Edmond, Paula Morris and Leonard Bell.

It contains the full range of artworks to be auctioned by Webb’s in partnership with BNZ. At 214 x 279mm, with a spine over 26mm, it contains more than 350 pages of bespoke content and photographic material that captures works from the collection and is printed on superior paper stocks. This is a limited edition publication which is now available to order at $65.00 NZD. auction@webbs.co.nz

Tear drop earring, 2022

Digital Chromogenic print, 405 x 610 mm

Edition of 8

Ground fern, 2021

Digital Chromogenic print from a found image, 269 x 353mm

Edition of 12

A woman in pink, 2021

Digital Chromogenic print, 269 x 404mm

Edition of 12

Got it (Acroroc #3) 2022

Digital Chromogenic print, 507 x 507mm

Edition of 12

Got it (Acroroc #2) 2022

Digital Chromogenic print, 507 x 507mm

Edition of 12

Acroroc construct, 2022

Digital Chromogenic print, 507 x 588mm

Edition of 12

Told you I'll be here forever, 2020

Pigment Ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 271 x 407mm

Edition of 8

Spring Blossom

Digital Chromogenic print, 203 x 254mm

Edition of 12

Boohoo - Whoopty doo, 2021

Pigment Ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, each image is 507 x 601mm

Edition of 25

Plumb bob

Gelatin Silver Contact Print, (Gold and Selenium Toned) 193 x 242mm

Edition of 15

Line of amalgam fillings, 2021

Digital Chromogenic print, 608 x 850mm

Edition of 8

Automatic coffee machine (Liquid Coffee), 2021

Digital Chromogenic print, 405 x 610mm

Edition of 8

Angel (Image grab), 2021

Pigment Ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 304 x 213mm

Edition of 12

Bruise, 2021

Digital Chromogenic print, 406 x 507mm

Edition of 12

The last rose, 2021

Digital Chromogenic print, 406 x 507mm

Edition of 12

Conjoined light shades, 2021

Digital Chromogenic print, 406 x 507mm

Edition of 12

A man in the street

Pigment Ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 177 x 255mm

Edition of 12

A woman in the street

Pigment Ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 127 x 178mm

Edition of 12

Palm reading in the sunlight (the last days of 2020)

Pigment ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 214 x 305mm

Edition of 12

Stainless-steel pot and chicken pieces, 2020

Digital Chromogenic print, 600 x 800mm

Edition of 8

A Conversation with Carol, 2020

.Pigment ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 406 x 507mm

.Edition of 12

Black stocking and fake diamond studded shoe, 2020

.Digital Chromogenic print, 380 x 507mm

.Edition of 8

Apollo International Art Magazine

.Review of Te Weke Exhibition by Matthew Kerr

.12 August 2020

.https://www.apollo-magazine.com/te-wheke-christchurch-art-gallery-review/

Hush Puppy Triptych, 2020

.Digital Chromogenic prints, each 127 x 178mm

.Edition of 12

Two artist portraits by Kevin Capon

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū

Friday 7 August 2020 / 12pm

Join volunteer guide Stephanie Beth as she discusses Kevin Capon's photographic portraits of Merata Mita and Ralph Hotere in Te Wheke on the first floor. Meet at the top of the stairs.

Art Bites are 30-minute lunchtime presentations on a single work on display, presented by our staff, guides and guest speakers.

OPEN 7 DAYS 10am – 5pm, Wednesday 10am – 9pm

Cnr Worcester Boulevard and Montreal Street, PO Box 2626, Ōtautahi Christchurch 8140, Aotearoa New Zealand (+64 3) 941 7300

Returning to the exact same spot I once visited 25 years ago

.C-Type Chromogenic Print, 178 x 254mm

Edition of 12

Te Wheke: Pathways Across Oceania

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū

May 2020 – March 2022

New Zealand's history in art has long been seen through a European lens, but a new exhibition in Christchurch is challenging that perception.

Featuring work by more than 70 artists including; Kevin Capon, Shane Cotton, Tony Fomison, Charles Goldie, Bill Hammond, Robyn Kahukiwa, Doris Lusk, Colin McCahon, Fiona Pardington, Michael Parekowhai, Lisa Reihana, Peter Robinson, Toss Woollaston, Robin White and others.

Te Weke: Pathways Accross Ocieana tells stories of the Pacific, of belonging and what it means to be at home, and offers an alternative way to think about how we are linked across time and place.

It brings together a mix of traditional and contemporary art forms – including weaving, carving, painting, video, sculpture, photography – to explore themes of navigation, belonging and identity.

Curated by Ken Hall, Nathan Pohio, Felicity Milburn, Lara Strongman and Peter Vangioni.

Spittle 2020

.Digital Chromogenic print, 415 x 600mm

.Edition of 8

Red flower in the sunlight, 2020

.Pigment ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 232 x 340mm

.Edition of 8

ANZAC DAY 2020

Today it is my birthday, I was born on ANZAC day 1959.

My Granddad Capon who fought in WW1 was always very proud of the fact his grandson was the ANZAC boy.

Today sadly there will be no formal ANZAC day commemorations nor any celebration of my birthday, this is because New Zealand along with the rest of the world is currently in lock down due to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. It will be a significantly changed world that we enter back into.

Private Corporal Robert Capon (WW1-71036) was born in Ashburton, New Zealand 7/9/1898 - 14/12/1979

Robert Capon a farmer’s labourer was conscripted into the armed forces at 20 years old from the main body of the Otago infantry battalion 35th reinforcements C company on the 7/9/1917. He was part of the NZ expeditionary force in the Great War of 1914 - 1918 and embarked for overseas duty on the 2/3/1918. He foot marched across Western Europe and spent a total of 536 days on active foreign service. He was discharged on the 17/9/1919 and received the illuminated certificate of service, the British War medal and the Victory Medal in 1920.

He took up a rehab farm at Titoki, Whangarei and went on to marry Joyce Leroy Carmichael having four children one of which was my dad Thomas Phillip Capon.

Grandad Capon was always a very fit and healthy man, he was proud of his war service and always stood to attention when greeting others, including his grandchildren. Aroha nui.

Alma, 2020

.Pigment ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 203 x 254mm

.Edition of 25

Self Portrait for 2020

.Digital Chromogenic print, 450 x 600mm

.Edition of 8

Time conscious, Tea for two

.Digital Chromogenic print, 600 x 800mm

.Edition of 12

Film 5471

.C-Type Chromogenic print, 600 x 900mm

.Edition of 10

Crystal Goblets Flutes and Window Light, Mokau 2019

.Digital Chromogenic print, 500 x 888mm

.Edition of 12

Sticky Fly Killer, 2019

.Digital Chromogenic print, 600 x 826mm

.Edition of 8

The Freemason, 2019

.Digital Chromogenic print from a found photograph, 200 x 150mm

.Edition of 12

Black leather shoes with plasticine talons, 2019

.Digital Chromogenic print, 600 x 800mm

.Edition of 12

SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY, 2019

Colin McCahon’s Muriwai Studio Floor

In 1984 I photographed Colin McCahon at his home in Auckland.

Some years later in 2005 I came across his studio in Muriwai. This studio was owned by Colin and Anne from 1969 to 1978 and was almost completely unrecognisable from the garage/shed it once was except for the floor which was in original condition well preserved under carpet overlay.

The new owners of the property were in the final stages of renovating the studio in order to sell it and buy a new septic tank.

Remarkably McCahon’s own family were under the impression the studio no longer existed, they considered it nothing more than a pile of old rotten floor boards, and his biographer along with art bureaucrats in Aotearoa/New Zealand viewed it as having no real significance.

I disagree with their sentiments, not only because it was well known that having this studio was a life long dream for McCahon enabling him to paint many of his largest and most important paintings including; Victory over Death, Gate 111 series, and the Tuhoe Urewera Murals, but also because it is imbued with the Mana of the Whakapapa and the stories that were laid down upon it.

Even McCahon himself did not separate the secular from the sacred and always insisted on respect for the inherent spirit held within a work, he also indicated the importance of accepting a Maori view point and questioned mono cultural aspects of our culture.

In terms of ‘Te Ao Maori’ Colin McCahon’s Muriwai Studio Floor is significant, it is a taonga and it deserves to be preserved in a similar way to Jackson Pollock’s studio floor https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/pkhouse/housestudio.php or closer to home, Janet Frame’s writing desk now housed at the International Institute of Modern Letters

https://discover.stqry.com/v/literature-and-culture/s/cf4b9842-ba93-407e-84ed-4aa87f90de76

In 2005 Carol and I purchased this studio in order to save the floor from being destroyed, it is now safely stored away in Mokau, North Taranaki.

The photographs in this exhibition were made just before the floor was carefully removed from the building, this is the first time these photographs have ever been shown. This exhibition was made possible thanks to the generous support of Creative New Zealand Funding.

Eastward view, Colin McCahon's Muriwai Studio Floor, 2005, c-type, chromogenic print, 660mm x 790mm

Westward view, Colin McCahon's Muriwai Studio Floor, 2005, c-type, chromogenic print, 625mm x 760mm

Colour Test

.C-Type Chromogenic Print, 127 x 177mm

Edition of 12

The missing sock, 2019

.Digital Chromogenic print, 540 x 720mm

.Edition of 12

Dog, 2019

.Digital Chromogenic print, 126 x 178mm

.Edition of 12

Carol crying, 2019

.Digital Chromogenic print, 560 x 810mm

.Edition of 8

Auckland Festival of Photograghy 2019

31st May to 16th June

Kevin Capon: Black sand rocks shells and driftwood arrangement, Mokau 2017, C-Type Chromogenic Print, 1200 x 1500mm, Edition of 8

The Auckland Festival of Photography 2019 is NZ's premium international photographic festival, that brings together photographers, curators, students, amateurs and professionals for the aim of encouraging the public to celebrate the art of photography. Kevin Capon's photographs will be on exhibition during the festival at Sanderson Contemporary Art Gallery in Auckland.

"His works are eclectic. From the grotesque to sublime beauty, he photographs extremes and all facets of life's gritty yet beautiful path" http://www.photographyfestival.org.nz/programme/index.cfmtheme=Exhibitions&exhibition_date=1%20june%202019

Verve Magazine artical, June 2019

"Kevin Capon turns everyday items into confrontational portraits; a book taped to a wall, a branch from a rose bush, a close up of a tattooed hand with a missing finger – all of his subjects stand stark as statements within themselves. Documenting such common items as if they are curiosities evokes broader real-world issues around our own societal truths, which can leave you feeling quietly unnerved" https://www.vervemagazine.co.nz/art-of-june/

SANDERSON show is from the 22 May - 9 June

Opens 5:30pm on Tuesday 21 May

Hours 10:00 - 6:00 Mon - Fri & 10:00 - 4:00 Sat - Sun

Osborne Lane: 2-4 Kent Street, Newmarket

09 520 0501

Dot, 2019

.Digital Chromogenic print, 203 x 254mm

.Edition of 12

Today I turn 60 years old, born ANZAC DAY 1959. Carol has made me my every-year birthday cake, that is, a round sponge smeared with raspberry jam topped with whipped cream. It is curtainly no posh designer cake, but back in the day when my mother would make it, it was the most special of cakes to me. It is a working class cake from my family's coal-mining heritage in Greymouth on the West Coast of New Zealand.

Ocean Mist & Lavender, 2019

.Digital Chromogenic print, 500 x 600mm

.Edition of 12

Poison armpit, 2019

.Digital Chromogenic print, 400 x 597mm

.Edition of 12

Mouth Guard, 2018

.Pigment ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 500 x 600mm

.Edition of 8

Woman in a cross strap evening dress, 2018

.Pigment ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 202 x 304mm

.Edition of 12

The crying boy, 2018

.Digital Chromogenic print, 202 x 304mm

.Edition of 12

Chandelier

.Digital Chromogenic print, 566 x 850mm

.Edition of 10

Foot, 2018

.Digital Chromogenic print, 560 x 850mm

.Edition of 8

Lavatory, 2018

.Digital Chromogenic Print, 1010 x 1350mm

.Edition of 8

Merata Mita: Film Premier NZ International Film Festival 2018

www.meratathemovie.com

meratathemovie.com

Taika Waititi, Chelsea Winstanley, Hepi Mita and Cliff Curtis at the premiere of Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen.

Cliff Curtis, Rima Te Wiata, Anne Thorp with the film poster of Merata Mita photographed by Kevin Capon in 1984,

taken from an original limited edition gold & selenium toned gelatin silver contact print, 195 x 245mm.

The film 'Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen' is directed by Heperi Mita and produced by Chelsea Winstanley, Tearepa Kahi and Cliff Curtis.

Merata Mita, pioneering Māori filmmaker and international champion of women in indigenous film, is celebrated by her youngest son, archivist Heperi Mita, collaborating with his siblings to deliver a richly personal portrait. Best known for her films Bastion Point: Day 507 and Patu! – on the forcible removal of the occupiers of the disputed land, and the nascent protest movement against the 1981 Springbok Tour – were both absolute triumphs of observational documentary making in front-line conditions. These films attracted significant international attention and praise.Her debut feature film Mauri (1988) was the first film ever to be solely directed by a Maori woman, or any woman from an Indigenous nation anywhere in the world. The straight-talking director and actor later set up an indigenous filmmaking programme in Hawai'i, and spoke about indigenous film around the globe. After Mita passed away in 2010, her youngest son Hepi began making a film about her — discovering new sides to his mother as he trawled through footage. The feature-length documentary debuted at the 2018 New Zealand International Film Festival.

“The revolution isn’t just running out with a gun. If a film I make causes indigenous people to feel stronger about themselves, then I’m achieving something worthwhile for the revolution.” Merata Mita.

Seroquel Slut c.2017

Digital Chromogenic Print, 297 x 420 mm

A small suite of 5 photographs from the John B. Turner / Art New Zealand feature article on Kevin Capon will be on exhibition at the Sanderson Art Gallery in Auckland during the Auckland Festival of Photography 31 May to 22 June 2018.

The Gideons Retreat, 2018

.Digital Chromogenic Print, 355 x 476mm

.Edition of 12

The shaking bunny

Video Still from a real time HDMI continuous play video loop

A Compelling Commentary

.D-Photo Magazine - issue 83, 2018

.Article on Kevin Capon written by Adrian Hatwell

Click Here to read the D-Photo article on Kevin Capon

Mudflap, 2018

.Digital Chromogenic Print, 405 x 507mm

.Edition of 12

Picture Post

.Real-photo postcards from the

. William Main collection

Mokau Museum and Gallery

Winners of the Service IQ Museum Visitor Experience Award 2017

Kevin Capon: Portraits 1984-85

15 December, 2017 - 25 January, 2018

Doris Lusk, Painter, Queenstown, New Zealand 1985

To coincide with the second anniversary of the opening of the Mokau Museum Art Gallery I will be showing 26 portraits selected by Carol Te Teira Capon from our collection of 40-unique gold/selenium toned gelatin silver 10 x 8 inch contact prints shown at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and the Dowse Art Museum in the 1980’s.

You can read about these portraits here: http://mokaumuseum.nz/exhibition/kevin-capon-portraits-1984-85/

And the Taranaki Daily News article here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/lifestyle/99622361/small-seaside-gallery-nabs-exhibition-of-national-significance

The Mokau Museum and Gallery under the guidance of Jan Brown and the volunteer staff are doing a fantastic job not only in creating an outstanding venue for displaying local and regional artifacts and artworks, but also in binding together a community with a long history of division.

The Museum’s collection consists of approximately 3000 artefacts including taonga, social history and natural history. Numerous photographs and archives make up the rest of the collection.

In early 2016 the Mokau Museum and Gallery was featured in the excellent TV series 'Heritage Rescue' and soon after became the Winners of the Service IQ Museum Visitor Experience Award 2017.

Home irrigation system, 2017

.C-Type Chromogenic Print, 1200 x 1500mm

Edition of 8

Mt Pleasant (28.5.2010 -1:10pm)

C-Type Chromogenic Print, 800 x 800mm

Edition of 6

Saint Kilda, 2006

C-Type Chromogenic Print, 995 x 1177mm

Edition of 6

Self portrait, 2017

.Pigment ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 600 x 800mm

.Edition of 8

Green box and kindling, 2017

Digital Chromogenic Print, 560 x 850mm

Edition 12

Carol in a dark room, 1997

.Pigment ink on Hahnemuhle photo-rag, 127 x 178mm

.Edition of 12

Malcolm Smith Gallery, Auckland

1 May - 3 June 2017

Yvonne Todd, Patrick Pound, Kevin Capon, Solomon Mortimer, Tia Ranginui, Russ Flatt, Ashlin Rawson, Stephanie O`Conner, Richard Orjis, Di ffrench, Mish O`Neil, Jenna Baydee, Ashlin Rawson, Liyen Chong

essa, 2012

Bright Light, Soft Launch brings together emerging and established artists exploring representations of the figure through image making.

The artists featured take a poetic and nuanced approach to portrait photography, teasing out characters and personas and presenting their subjects in a kaleidoscope of ways. Some intend to blur and muddle typical perceptions; others mix stereotypes and narratives with nostalgia and tradition. All present a different way of contemplating how the figure can be captured through a lens.

Uxbridge Malcolm Smith Gallery.

.http://www.uxbridge.co.nz/home/gallery/