Hannah Kidd b. 1981

Hannah Kidd is a New Zealand sculptor widely recognised for her inventive and highly expressive sculptural work, which explores the intricacies of everyday life - from people and animals to the often-overlooked moments that define them.

 

Based in Methven, beneath the Southern Alps, Kidd creates her large-scale works using welded steel rod and cladding them in corrugated iron, a material that has become synonymous with her distinctive practice.

 

Kidd’s sculptures are often life-sized or larger, and they are imbued with a sense of movement, character, and humour. Despite the industrial nature of her materials, there is a remarkable warmth and immediacy to her work. Whether portraying a dog mid-stride, a tui perched on flax, or a person engaged in an ordinary task, Kidd’s figures are grounded in observation but filtered through a highly imaginative lens.

 

Each sculpture begins as a two-dimensional chalk drawing on metal, which serves as a template for building up a three-dimensional frame in steel rod. That framework is then clad in sheets of corrugated iron, often recycled or flattened by hand (or by vehicle) and sometimes finished with enamel or acrylic paint. In some cases, she incorporates lighting to add theatricality and further dimension to the work. Kidd first trained in bronze and fiberglass but eventually pivoted to these more robust and scalable materials, working alongside local engineers to develop the technical skills necessary for constructing large, durable pieces.