100 Men Rotorua
Following on from 100 Women Rotorua, 100 Men Rotorua takes the population statistics of age, ethnicity and place of birth as a starting point to discover who makes up our community. The portraits intentionally represent our diverse population, highlight the make-up of our community and celebrate men in all of their capacities.
My art seeks to explore the connections between people, and between people and place; the portraits explore these themes. Until the 100 Women Rotorua project, my view of our city had not been representative of who lives here. Undertaking the previous project, I realised I was only getting half the story, and as the mother of two sons I believe the opinions and stories of men are equally important. 100 Men Rotorua continues the themes and intentions of my previous project 100 Women Rotorua: to meet men from the wider community, to hear their stories and to eventually line the portraits up, side by side, as a powerful visual statement.
Over the past year I have met with 100 Men from more than 25 suburbs in their self-designated “happy place”. I have visited lakes, homes, forests, hot pools, work places and other favourite spots.
The portraits on these walls reflect the population statistics. 84% were born in New Zealand. Our community is very young 29% are under 20 years of age. The youngest man is 2 days old, the oldest 88 years old. We are approximately 50% NZEU, 35% Māori , 9% Asian, 5% Pacific Islander, 1% Other.
After meeting 100 Women and 100 Men in Rotorua I feel more part of the community here but what I learned is not specific to the city. I learned about life, identity and community which is a common thread across our country, across the world. I’ve learned there is far, far more that connects us than divides us. We are better together.
I am grateful to the participants who gave their time and wisdom to help complete the project. Their experiences reflect the whole spectrum of human life; the stories are available to read online @katiehoy.photographer on Facebook and Instagram.
