Born in 1974 and raised on the North Shore in Auckland, Alexis
attended Elam, Auckland University's School of Fine Arts from 1993
to 1996, gaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking. After
living in London where she graduated from Slade School of Fine Arts
with a Masters in Printmaking and Mixed Media, Alexis returned home
to take up a position at Elam's Printmaking department.
Alexis's work explores her family heritage as a Maori and Pakeha
New Zealander, with particular emphases on defining women's
cultural identity and the duality of cultural artefacts as items of
personal adornment and art objects. Her approach to these
issues extends over a vast range of media, with her lithographs,
paintings and mixed media works such as sewn feather canvases
addressing these traditional Maori emblems in a contemporary
context.
Alexis has exhibited in solo shows both nationally and
internationally in Australia, Norway and Britain, and in 2006 was
selected as a finalist in the Trust Waikato National Contemporary
Art Awards and the Norsewear Art Awards. Her work is held in a
diverse number of collections as far-flung as the NZ Embassy in New
York, the National Gallery of Australia and the Tjibaou Cultural
Centre in New Caledonia.