Dorothy Waetford

Name
Dorothy Waetford
Iwi/Ethnicity
Ngātiwai/Māori
Ngāti Hine/Māori
Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu/Ngāpuhi/Māori
Date of birth
1967
Gender
Female
Biography
Dorothy Waetford holds a teaching diploma from Auckland College of Education, an applied arts degree from NorthTec and a postgraduate diploma in Māori visual arts from Massey University. She is a member of Ngā Kaihanga Uku, Te Tai Tokerau Māori Artists Collective, Te Ātinga and Toi Ngāpuhi.

Waetford began her career as a performing artist and member of the contemporary Māori dance company Taiao. In the 1990s, inspired by the developments being made in Māori contemporary visual arts, she began the work in clay for which she is now best known.

Waetford’s sculptural forms refer to Māori oral and visual traditions. Recent work draws on te reo Māori: giving a new physical presence to the sound and cultural narratives that language holds.