JanMaree

JAN MAREE VODANOVICH

Artist • Photographer • Author

“I start my day with the quiet expectation that something wondrous will occur.”

I am a New Zealand artist, photographer and author whose work explores place, memory, identity and the relationships between people, animals and the natural world.

For almost twenty years, I have photographed the Kaimanawa wild horses in their remote central North Island home, through the annual muster and into their lives after rehoming. At the heart of this journey is Porthos, a wild band stallion mustered with his mares and foal in 2021 and subsequently entrusted to my care.

This long-term body of work became Heart and Soul – A Kaimanawa Story, a 2026 photographic book bringing together the horses, their wild families and the people who have helped shape their lives. Its first edition sold out, and a second printing is now available.

My current multidisciplinary project, HERD, brings together sculpture, bas-relief, photography and storytelling. Created from paper pulp, plaster, flax, earth pigments and reclaimed materials, each horse carries a story of resilience, family, belonging, courage, loss and connection. Together, the works are growing towards a herd of fifty.

I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts and am an NZIPP Master of Photography with Three Bars. My creative practice moves between photography, painting, sculpture, writing and book design, but storytelling remains at the heart of everything I make.

I believe art can help us look more closely—to notice beauty in unexpected places, deepen our connection with the living world and see familiar stories with new eyes.

Life is an adventure to be celebrated.

PRACTICE AND QUALIFICATIONS

BFA
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland.

AUTHOR
Author, photographer and designer of Heart and Soul – A Kaimanawa Story, published in 2026. The book is the culmination of almost twenty years documenting New Zealand’s Kaimanawa wild horses—from life in the ranges and the annual muster to the journeys of horses after rehoming.

MNZIPP — MASTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY WITH THREE BARS
Qualified and accredited by the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST
Creator of HERD, an evolving body of sculpture, bas-relief, photography and storytelling exploring resilience, family, belonging and our connection with the natural world.

To enquire about purchasing a book, an artwork or commissioning a portrait, please contact me.