‘She had always liked to dress neatly, and remained fastidious all her life. She reflected the styles of her late Victorian youth by dressing usually in a navy or black dress, with a lace jabot at her neck, held by a brooch.’ Megan Hutching – Over the Wide and Trackless Sea: The Pioneering Women and Girls of New Zealand

I am searching for an aesthetic space I see between the masculine and the feminine. From reading about the women who first came to New Zealand and the hardships they endured, in a male dominant environment, rich in native and foreign surroundings, I came across the story of Jensine a Scandinavian woman that along with raising her family, dug for Kauri gum with her husband. The description I found of Jensine’s traditional dress sense and her pioneering life in New Zealand has inspired a series of interpretations.