Investigating notions of the self and
identity as it is expressed in the home, Holli McEntegart's
photographic practice can be aptly described as one that is
orientated towards the capturing of a 'domestic geography'.
McEntegart seeks to break in to that most sacred of spaces - the
one place in the world where an individual can feel free to express
themselves as they truly are - the home. Hence, McEntegart's work
weaves a narrative that is equal parts humour and drama and one
which succeeds in unearthing the intimate details that construct
the identity of the home.
The sense of cinematic composition,
choreographed scene setting and attention to detail strike
parallels to McEntegart's film-making practice. With these filmic
qualities, McEntegart transforms her photography into storytelling,
using private interiors as the set upon which homely dramas are
enacted. In those works in which McEntegart focuses wholly on the
setting and not the scene, it is the absence of the human element
that
allows the qualities of those settings - the texture of
dated fabrics or the quirkiness of a repeating wallpaper motif
etc - to come to the fore, as if to make light of those guilty
little secrets that pervade our homes - the things that we love to
death, but don't necessarily want anyone else to see.
McEntegart's practice is built upon early studies towards a
Bachelor of Visual Arts and later, a Bachelor of Design majoring in
Photography from Unitec in Auckland. She has shown in group
exhibitions in Auckland and Chile and in 2005, her work was
published in Bright Young Things - Works By Emerging New
Zealand Artists. In 2007 she gained an Honourable Mention for her
work at Europe's most prestigious photography
competition, Prix de la Photographie Paris. She is now based
in Auckland and continues to produce and exhibit photographic
work.