25 February – 7 June
Photography Gallery

Parbhu Makan is a photographic artist who is considered underrepresented – there have been just a few public exhibitions of his work, notably at Real Pictures Gallery in Auckland during the 1970s and 1980s. Makan, a contemporary of Fiona Clark and Ian Macdonald, did not pursue an artistic career and his large body of work remains mostly hidden from public view.

Makan has a notable body of work covering four decades of practice and it is still ongoing. He is involved at all stages of the process producing black and white prints in his home darkroom. The key genre in his work is portraiture – these photographs show a real bond formed with his subjects. Of note is a series conceived during a trip to India in 1976 where Makan re-traced his roots, visiting his Grandfather’s village. The series marks his identity, as a descendant from the village and a third-generation New Zealander.

This exhibition features nine black and white photographic self-portraits. Makan has described how there was much trial and error during the shoot, often with a number of ‘failures’. He set up a camera with a timer and quickly placed himself in in the shot. His nude body is presented to the viewer as a model to explore aspects of tone, light and texture. These photographs were first exhibited in the early 1980s at Real Pictures Gallery with the support of Ian Macdonald. They were acquired by the Trust in 2018 and are on show for the first time at the Pah Homestead.

Parbhu Makan, Untitled (self-portrait) (x 3), 1980, black and white unique handprint on Ilford Multigrade Classic paper.