Frankie Matchitt-Millar

Ko wai koe?
Ko Frankie au. He uri tenei Rangitihi, Whakatohea, Tuhoe. I’m mostly from the top of the fin of Te-Ika-a-Maui. Also from Ireland, Scotland, England, Italy, and Norway. Bit of melting pot of white sauce.

What are your pronouns?
He/they

Where are you living/working right now?
All of my mahi is based in Pōneke. My art, my work, my uni, and most of my whānau; chosen and given. I live up on Matairangi and primarily spend time at my uni on Pukeahu.

What do you do and why do you do it?
I’m a creative. I always thought of myself as a maker, of things. I’ve started to make less things now. I do it for myself, but want to find a way to make it more accessible to my community, takātapuhi and my iwi. I just want to make my mahi toi easy to engage with. To change people’s minds, to help people understand themselves.

What are you working on at the moment?
Currently? Getting my degree. Nah kidding, working on a lot of painting actually. Right now I’m trying to find a good medium to document my mahi, so using the body to paint. Also always writing.

What do you love about art?
I love seeing everyone’s work and showing my own.

What are you reading/listening to/watching at the moment?
Currently I’m reading Carl Jung’s Man and His Symbols; a rite of passage for every annoying young man. Also always have a copy of Rangikura by Tayi Tibble on hand. I’m listening to a lot of Lorde, old and new. As well as Twigs & Sophie. Trying to really understand the collective whakapapa of being queer and what better way to do that than through art.

Who is your art crush?
It’s a tie. Felix Gonzalez Torres and Ana Mendieta. Is it weird they’re both dead?

If you had one wish for the art world what would it be?
For artists to really find their community by exploring as many as possible.