Ten is the idea for the imagery and was born from celebrating ten years in business. Being in business for ten years is no mean feat, it takes dedication and a massive commitment as anyone who has done it can testify. This is especially true in the creative fields when your absolute passion for the arts has to carry you through. The works have been inspired by Rembrandt’s use of well lit subjects against dark abstract backgrounds. The backgrounds themselves have familiarity about them to New Zealanders and I have used multi layered textures from our environment to create them. In part it is my own connection with the land is why I used these natural textures because I wanted to give the talent a sense of being at home or a familiarity to it. The series was shot over time. The tiki tattoo which the talent wear is from the New Zealand ten cent piece. Tekau is the Maori word for ten.