Jane Ussher peeks inside New Zealand’s most beautiful homes

08 Nov 2022

For many of those working in design and architecture, the sight of Jane Ussher MNZM and her Hasselblad camera and tripod is a sign of a job well done. The award-winning photographer has photographed some of the finest homes in New Zealand and is known for her methodical style, meticulous eye for detail and ability to frame a room through her lens.  Her new book Rooms: Portraits of Remarkable New Zealand Interiors, created with help from Resene  is an extraordinary compilation of rooms of some of the country’s most colourful homes, some of which have never been photographed before.

Jane shares her experiences creating the book.

This is a major project. How long did it take?

About two years actually taking the photographs, but the idea behind the book has been developing for a lot longer — photographing spaces and rooms is something of an obsession of mine. Planning the trips was complicated by the resurgence of Covid, but the time away from the camera allowed me to clarify what I wanted to include in the book so in some ways it was advantageous. The two major Auckland lockdowns meant we couldn’t get out of town to shoot and later on, when the borders were open, we didn’t want to create anxiety for homeowners by being visitors from Auckland to parts of the country with low Covid numbers. Suffice to say that we were really under the pump at deadline time!

The artworks in this Westmere worker’s cottage, recently renovated by architect Malcolm Walker, are the collection of two astute and experienced collectors The hanging, Of Flora and Fanau is by Serene Timoteo. The ceramic pieces on the mantelpiece on page 242 include works by US potter Jeff Oestreich and Aaron Scythe, Japanese Oribe ware and antique sauce tureens.

How on earth did you get people to agree to having their rooms photographed?

I think trust played a major role. Amazingly, almost no one said no. The fact that we were offering anonymity to people whose homes had never been published before certainly helped, but I also think that they were curious to see what the photographs would say about their space. In some cases taking the photographs was a very collaborative process, with the owners contributing ideas or helping create a better composition by moving things around, while in other instances the owners were happy to give me free rein.

Colour is the book’s notable feature?.

Yes, all the owners seemed confident with their choices of colour or in some cases the complete lack thereof, where the empty spaces allowed the art to be the feature. These aren’t spaces where the owners follow trends and in many cases their collections of art, sculpture and furniture helped define the colour of the rooms.

The walls of this contemporary harbourside home designed by Kerikeri architect Victor Wilmar are hung with hangings based on tapestries and painted by its owner, former Wellington fashion designer and boutique owner Kerrie Hughes. She turned her attention to her art practice after returning home from London, where she had a shop and label, Idol, with Penny Meachin, in 2000.

If there’s one thing this book is not it’s minimalist.
Correct, though within the book there are many quiet spaces. What I think this book showcases is people’s interest in creating rooms that reflect their individuality without fear, which is exciting. These are the rooms of people who collect but with huge intelligence and restraint so the rooms don’t feel decorated as such but rather curated.

You work with your Hasselblad and available light. Many of these rooms are obviously very dimly lit. Is this where your camera’s strengths really came to the fore?

I prefer working in soft, low light and my camera does as well, so we complement each other. Working with long exposures on a tripod gave me time to fine-tune my composition and problem-solve. I like my images to have a filmic quality — moody and atmospheric rather than bright and well lit.

In what way did working on this book push you as a photographer?

It used all the skills that over many years as a photographer I’ve fine-tuned: light, space, composition and engaging with the subject matter. Gaining people’s trust was also hugely important and with that came the responsibility of creating images that these very discerning homeowners would find acceptable. It’s so anxiety-producing but that is when I push myself the hardest.

Rooms is for sale in bookshops throughout the country, visit www.masseypress.ac.nz.

Published: 08 Nov 2022