6 minute read
Contemporary visual artist
In just a few short years, contemporary visual artist Lizzie Snow’s captivating organic designs have earned her a large following and some exciting collaborative opportunities.
I’ve always been drawn to creativity and art,” says Lizzie. “These interests pop up in everything I do and certainly did all throughout my childhood. I was drawing intricate circles and mandalas before I even knew what they were.”
Lizzie attended Dio for her junior and intermediate schooling, leaving in 2008. She went on to do a Bachelor of Design and then gained a Master of Fine Arts from Victoria University of Wellington.
After travelling extensively, she settled in Tofino on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, where she lives with her partner. It’s a resort town of just 2000 inhabitants with beaches and ancient forests that Lizzie describes as a fusion of Raglan and Queenstown – and perfect inspiration for her art.
“It’s a fascinating balance between small-town living with fabulous restaurants, beautiful resorts, interesting people and a unique culture,” Lizzie says. “I love living in Canada, but New Zealand will always be home and always have my heart.”
As above, so below
Lizzie draws her artistic inspiration from fractals in nature – the ever-repeating patterns found in objects of all sizes throughout the universe, from the shapes of the human nervous system and branching trees to snowflakes,
coastal edges, lightning bolts and galaxy formations. Her designs are intricate and complex, but they’re also universally accessible, perhaps because they contain the very patterns of life that are both within and around us.
“I abstract the patterns I see and then reconstruct them through scaling, symmetry and repetition,” she explains. “Fractal patterning allows us to visualise the unbreakable and immense interconnection between humans and nature – they’re a fusion of art, science, mathematics and people. Once you begin to notice these patterns, they start showing up everywhere.” Archival ink and acrylic paint are the main mediums Lizzie uses for her artwork. In 2014 she founded her business fortyonehundred. The name combines the latitude coordinate of Wellington (41) where her art journey officially began, with the number 100, which relates to the themes of wholeness and completion in her artwork.
Reaching global art-lovers
In the first few years, Lizzie worked hard to grow both her online and offline audience. She now has more than 125,000 social media followers, predominantly on Instagram. For an artist creating alone, it’s a great tool to share her work and communicate with people around the world. Media coverage, exhibitions, events and word of mouth have helped extend her reach and bring her art to a wider audience.
She’s subsequently painted murals in New Zealand, Hawaii and Canada, released limited-edition prints and collectable items, and designed tattoos and clothing.
“Most of my collectors are in New Zealand, followed by the United States, Canada and then pockets around the world. I have Dio families and alumni who are collectors, which is a lovely link back to my years at the School.”
In early 2018, after 10 group shows, Lizzie held her first solo exhibition in Wellington as the final project for her Master of Fine Arts degree.
Embracing collaborative opportunities
As Lizzie’s following has increased, so have the chances to co-create. She’s collaborated with a number of well-known New Zealand and international brands. Her first big break came when she was asked to speak at a Lululemon event in Wellington. She then painted a mural for the company and designed golden mandalas that graced Lululemon store windows around New Zealand.
Lizzie has also done a limited-edition collaboration with iconic New Zealand brand Blunt Umbrellas. In 2019, she joined forces with Whittaker’s, using the company’s chocolate and foil wrapping to create original mandala designs. Her artwork appears on
AllBirds’ shoe boxes and striking black-and-gold cans for Wellington craft brewer Garage Project.
In March 2018, she teamed up with Converse and Auckland shoe store Pat Menzies to create an activation with Auckland’s Heart of The City for Fashion Week.
“I pre-painted four pairs of shoes in my studio leading up to our live event. These were available to bid on and all proceeds of the shoe sales went to two wonderful charities, Rainbow Youth and The Cameron Wilson Trust. I also customised shoes for anyone who bought a pair of Chucks on the day. It was so busy! I had a huge line-up of shoes and had the best time hand-painting them all.”
Lizzie also commits her time and talent to supporting non-profits and social enterprises, such as YouthLine, Wellington Women’s Refuge, ThinkLadder, and Clayoquot CleanUp. She was a featured artist for Denik, a notebook manufacturer that channels proceeds of its sales into building schools in developing countries. “I’ve met amazing people through every experience and opportunity,” she says.
A recent career highlight for Lizzie was being commissioned to paint five murals for the new Westfield Newmarket. The biggest of these, located on the rooftop bar area, is 30m long and is her largest mural yet.
In another exciting project, she collaborated with Peugeot NZ and Armstrong Motor Group to wrap a new Peugeot 3008 SUV in her artwork. Lizzie was given creative freedom – a dream brief for any artist – and kept the vehicle for three months to go adventuring in while promoting Peugeot and her artwork.
Even bigger plans on the horizon
In the midst of the massive upheaval that COVID-19 brought to lives around the world, Lizzie stayed in North America and is grateful to have been living in a safe and reasonably isolated community that hasn’t been touched by the virus. Her home-based online business allowed her to continue creating and planning new projects. She even shared her art – the Dio school community included – as free downloadable colouring pages to help her followers get through coronavirus self-isolation.
Lizzie has a collaboration coming out with a New Zealand brand later this year and hopes to be able to come home for the launch event.
“It’s a very cool eco-minded brand, so keep an eye out for that. I’m also pleased to have just started working with Domestika, an online education platform. I’ve been invited to their headquarters in Madrid where they have studios and film crews, to teach a drawing class, which will eventually be available for purchase on their platform.”
As if that weren’t enough, after a great deal of hard work, she’s also launching a jewellery line.
“In my original artworks, I’m heading in the direction of larger, statement works for private collections. I have many ideas and options on the horizon, and I’m incredibly grateful to be on this path. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way!”
You can follow Lizzie on Instagram @fortyonehundred or visit her website
