PROFILE
Sheyne Tuffery is a Wellington-based multimedia artist of Samoan and Scandinavian/Celtic descent. For over 27 years, his work has explored cultural identity, Pacific urbanism, and environmental change through printmaking, painting, animation, and public art.
Trained at the Auckland Society of Arts in the early 1990s and later completing a Master’s in relief printmaking at the University of Auckland, Tuffery developed his signature style around the concept of paper architecture: futuristic Pacific cityscapes inspired by the Samoan fale and shaped by the towering density of global urban environments. Influenced by Gaudí’s organic architecture and the gothic skylines of Prague, his imaginary structures are blueprints for survival — fusing tradition with speculative design.
Tuffery’s work has long responded to rising sea levels, biodiversity loss, and colonisation, particularly in the Pacific region. Early pieces addressed these concerns symbolically; recent works confront them directly through motifs of endangered species and shifting landscapes. He draws connections between ecological resilience and cultural continuity.
In 2019, as artist-in-residence at Carter Observatory, Tuffery created a body of work responding to the Apollo 11 moon landing’s 50th anniversary. The experience deepened his engagement with astronomy, cosmology, and the role of science in shaping shared human narratives. These themes now appear regularly in his practice, combining popular science with spiritual reflection.
During recent lockdowns, Tuffery embraced found-object monoprinting and natural materials, reconnecting with land and texture while promoting low-tech, sustainable methods. He continues to share these practices in workshops that foreground recycling, storytelling, and Pacific perspectives.
Tuffery’s art is both visionary and grounded — a dialogue between ancestral knowledge and future possibility.
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Articles/ Links
Stuff Article /Dominion Post 2022
Stuff Article/ Dominion post 2022
Eastern Courier 2009
New Zealand Herald 2002