Alexis Hunter
| Alexis Hunter | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Alexis Jan Atthill Hunter 4 November 1948 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Died | 24 February 2014 (aged 65) London, England |
| Nationality |
 New Zealand |
| Alma mater | Elam School of Fine Arts |
| Known for | Photography, painting |
| Movement | Stuckism |
| Spouse(s) | Baxter Mitchell |
| Website |
http://www.alexishunter.co.uk http://www.alexishunter-paintings.co.uk |
Alexis Jan Atthill Hunter (4 November 1948 – 24 February 2014) was a contemporary New Zealand painter and photographer, who used feminist theory in her work. She lived in London. Hunter was also a member of Stuckism.
Hunter's parents emigrated to New Zealand from Sydney in 1947, and she was born in Epsom, Auckland. Her twin sister is the print maker and photographer Alyson Hunter. Hunter was raised in Titirangi in the Waitakere Ranges in Auckland.
From 1966 to 1969, Hunter studied at Elam School of Fine Arts, where she was influenced by a tutor Colin McCahon's ethics that the artist has responsibility as a member of society. In 1970, she lived in a commune in Cairns. In 1971, she completed a teaching diploma in art and history.
In 1972 she moved to London and worked in film animation. She was a member of the Women's Workshop of the Artists Union (1972–1975) and the Woman's Free Arts Alliance. She has said that during this time of her feminist stance, "We were ridiculed in the press. We couldn't get work", and that she also found it difficult to get photo labs to print her work.
She started to study European tattoos, after listening to a lecture at the Royal Academy, which described them in a belittling way; she said, "I was angry because I know from New Zealand culture that tattooing was a very important part of Maori social structure." She took photos in the street of men with tattoos and received sexist accusations, which she rejected.
She used the image of hands in her work. A series, Approach to Fear II: Change – Decisive Action (1977), depicts red nail varnish being taken off and fingernails being cut with a razor blade.Sexual Warfare (1975) is a grid of photographs with text, where her own hands show different methods of killing a male partner, such as a pair of scissors being clutched and the text "Castrate, dedicated to Delilah". Threat and humour combine, and the word "Compete" is hand with the book, How to Make it in a Man's World. Images in the series, The Marxist Housewife (Still Does the Housework) (1978), show a manicured hand cleaning a poster of Karl Marx, referencing both class issues and Marx's lack of recognition of domestic labour in his writing. The series Identity Crisis consists of six photographs of Hunter, each taken by a different person over a two-week period, showing how they saw her, ranging from the feminity of wearing a pearl necklace to a defiant stance wearing a hard hat.
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