Tamara Dean: Aotearoa Art Fair 2026

The Aotearoa Art Fair will mark the first public showing for the latest project from acclaimed Australian contemporary photographer Tamara Dean, one of the defining image-makers, visual storytellers and photographic innovators of her generation. Dean is set to debut two new works from her forthcoming series, The Garden, in which lithe, colourfully clad subjects are gracefully transformed into hybrid flower-human figures. The Garden has already garnered significant acclaim, with select photographs shortlisted for the 2026 Blake Prize and the 10th-anniversary edition of the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize. Following the news of these dual awards shortlistings, Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin is pleased to host the inaugural outing for this already lauded project and invites collectors to register for priority access.

Working between her custom-built underwater photo studio and the wild floral abundance of the natural world, Dean describes The Garden as a series created through two distinct formats and approaches, connected through colour, flora and an ongoing exploration of our place within natural ecosystems. “Flowers, plants and fabrics are carefully selected and composed to create visual relationships between images,” says the artist, whose Blake and Ravenswood Prize nods add to an extraordinary run of recent accolades, including her triumphs at the 2025 Hornsby Art Prize and Naked & Nude Art Prize. “Materials used in the underwater works echo the colours of the flowers found in the garden photographs, allowing the two approaches to remain aesthetically and conceptually connected despite their different environments.”

For acquisition enquiries, please contact tobymeagher@michaelreid.com.au