Erica van Zon

Erica van Zon is a contemporary artist. Born in 1979, she lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington.

Erica draws inspiration for her practice from her personal fascinations, memories, and encounters with the local and wider world. Moving through different time zones and aesthetic eras, Erica creates a collective understanding which is revealed, relived or questioned in the viewing of her work.

Swimming pools, avocados and eggs, colour charts or views from aeroplane windows are recreated and repurposed using craft-based materials. These include embroidery, ceramics, beading, and tapestry, alongside photographs and steel. It is in the remaking that new narratives and relationships are formed. In everything Erica makes, the handmade is apparent, even if it's not her hand in the making. She is influenced by materials and process, collecting new ideas and combinations from all aspects of her life.

Humour, pastiche and visual trickery are important parts of Erica’s practice. Her works often include optic puns, or funny mistakes as one medium is translated to another. She enjoys the slippage between reality and the imperfect outcome of the handmade.

Her mixed media exhibitions are joyful and infectious. They also border on the obsessive, taking weeks and months to create each work.