Photography by Java Wilde.

Who are you? And what do you do?

My name is James Warrender. I'm a multidisciplinary artist based in Wellington, New Zealand. I’d consider myself more of an abstract expressionism painter. Besides my painting, I also run my brand, Newlife Studios, which aims to showcase local creatives in New Zealand and give them a platform.

What inspires your art?

I take inspiration from my own personal life experiences and from the subtleties of everyday life, seeking to uncover the extraordinary within the ordinary.

What do you hope people to take away from your art?

I aim to create that soul-to-soul moment between the artwork and the audience, letting the audience interpret the painting and come up with their own meaning. I hope to spark conversations, inspire reflection, and celebrate the beauty and complexity of the human experience. Whether they hate my work, or they love it, I want it to be memorable for them.

How would you describe your style?

I’d say my style is "broke artist's swag," putting together op-shop drip with designer drip.

You have also created New Life studios, tell us more about this mahi?

So Newlife Studios was created by me and some friends, Ava O’Brien, Cole Bowden, and Carlos Sarvida in 2022. Newlife Studios is a brand which aims to empower fashion designers and other creatives by providing them with opportunities and a platform to showcase their craft to the public. Newlife Studios started by hosting our first fashion show in 2022 at the NZ Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington. Our shows involve open casting of models and designers. Once cast, our designers are given a brief that outlines the concept and theme of the event. Our designers are free to express their creativity within the parameters of the brief we have written for the show.

While our core team here at Newlife Studios organises sponsors, location, tickets, tech, and other behind-the-scenes admin. For our first Fashion Show, we challenged our 10 designers to craft two unique outfits from upcycled materials and breathe new life into old items to create wearable works of art. We continued to host three more successful fashion shows collaborating with Club 121 (2022-2023), and we recently completed our first Artist In-residency at the NZ Academy of Fine Arts, showcasing local artists, getting them exposure and introducing them to the community. The name “Newlife Studios” embodies our commitment to sustainability, where we aim to promote the recycling of materials and reduce waste in the fashion industry.

What are some of your upcoming projects or exhibitions?

Currently, I’m working on my first collection for Newlife Studios, which consists of five looks. This will be shown next year on March 30th in Dunedin in a fashion show I’m organizing alongside Fringes Garments, Je pleure, and Imperfect Creatures. We will have 20 designers in total showcasing their work in this show!

The name of the show is AS WE WATCH THE WORLD GO BY, inspired by Existentialism. Existentialism is about how each person sees life and how it might not have a clear purpose. It says that individuals can make their own choices and should take responsibility for them.

Instead of depending on things like religion or what society thinks, people should make their own meaning in life. Existentialists talk about how life can feel anxious and strange, but facing those feelings can lead to real meaning. A big idea in existentialism is “being real.” This means living based on your own beliefs, not just following what others do. It’s all about personal feelings, what you think is true, and the choices you make.

Existentialism looks at things like freedom, making choices, being your own person, dealing with the fact that life will end someday, and trying to find a point to it all. It has affected many areas like philosophy, writing, psychology, and art, and it still has a big impact today.

How can people find out more about your work?

You can find me on Instagram under my account warrenderjames_aw, and you can find out more about Newlife Studios on our Instagram account newlife_studios_. Feel free to reach out if you want to find out more about Newlife Studios and our shows!