VIVIAN LYNN

Early Years

Lynn was born in Wellington in 1931. She attended Wellington Girls’ College before completing a Diploma of Fine Arts at Canterbury University College’s School of Fine Arts in 1952, majoring in painting, and a Diploma of Teaching at Auckland Teachers’ Training College in 1954. Lynn undertook further study in Honolulu, New York, and Albuquerque, and participated in international land art projects, including Christo‘s Rifle Gap Valley Curtain in Colorado. She lived and worked in Wellington for most of her life, teaching for many years at Wellington Polytechnic’s School of Design (now Massey University), where she influenced generations of artists and designers.

Vivian Lynn Artworks

Vivian Lynn’s contemporary art practice is renowned for its conceptual rigour, use of unorthodox materials, and ongoing investigation into gender, identity, and the body. Her work often juxtaposes charged bodily materials such as hair with industrial or architectural forms, interrogating the cultural codes that shape our understanding of the body and society.

Abandoning Painting and Embracing Feminist Practice

In the late 1960s, Lynn abandoned traditional painting and an early interest in Modern abstraction, believing that ‘a feminist oil painting on canvas is an oxymoron.’. She began working with diverse materials and technologies, developing a conceptual approach that became her signature by the early 1970s.

Guarden Gates and Hair Works

Lynn’s Guarden Gates (1982) is a seminal series comprising seven works that use human hair woven through cyclone gates, exploring themes of female power, myth, and the constraints of patriarchal society. The works evoke spiritual journeys and challenge stereotypes, drawing on Jungian psychology and ancient mythologies.

Medical Imagery and the Mind

From the late 1980s, Lynn incorporated medical imagery, such as DNA, Rorschach inkblots, and brain scans, into her work. Her installation Spin: Versor, Versari (1997) features nine large MRI scans of her own brain, inviting viewers to contemplate the intersection of the body, mind, and societal structures. This work reflects her ongoing interest in how the self is constructed at both the physical and psychological levels.

Other Notable Works

Gates of the Goddess — a southern crossing attended by the Goddess (1986) brings together themes of healing, the abject, and the undervalued status of women’s craft and reproduction. Lynn’s practice consistently interrogated the politics of gender, nature/culture discourse, and the boundaries between public and private.

Awards and Accolades

• QEII Arts Council grants (1980—1983)
• Advisory Committee on Women’s Affairs grant (1983)
• Trustees of the National Library grant (1984)
• Wellington Polytechnic School of Design Research grant (1992—1993)

Exhibitions

Vivian Lynn has been the subject of both solo and group exhibitions at important institutions. In 2008—2009, a survey exhibition of Lynn’s work titled I, HERE, NOW: Vivian Lynn, curated by Christina Barton, was held at the Adam Art Gallery at Victoria University of Wellington.

Solo Exhibitions

• Spin: Versor, Versari, City Gallery Wellington, 1997
• Caryatid, City Gallery Wellington, 1986
• Survey exhibition, City Gallery Wellington, 1982
• I, HERE, NOW: Vivian Lynn, Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University of Wellington, 2008—09

Group Exhibitions

• Art and Organised Labour, City Gallery Wellington, 1991
• The Sacred Way, City Gallery Wellington, 1992
• Alter/Image, City Gallery Wellington, 1993
• Monsters from the Id, City Limits café, Wellington, 1988

Website

Vivian Lynn’s website can be found here.

Critical Reception

Vivian Lynn’s practice has been covered in publications, including Art New Zealand, City Gallery Wellington, and Te Papa’s Blog. Her work is widely recognised for its intellectual depth and its significant contribution to feminist discourse in New Zealand art.

Vivian Lynn FAQs

Ocula | 2025