Peter Peryer

Peter Peryer made photographs sparingly, often weighing up a possible subject for months or even years before committing to a shot. The resulting images, most often rendered in black and white, distil that long looking time into a single moment full of texture and intensity. This photograph was made in a place he knew well, the kahere of Pukeiti in Ngāmotu New Plymouth. It was heavily logged in the 1920s, but several ancient rimu remain, increasingly surrounded by the regenerating bush. This view includes a tall northern rātā, its trunk covered a cascade of kiekie. The rātā is an epiphytic species, first ‘perching’ on a host tree before dropping roots to the ground, where they eventually grow to encircle the host. 

kahere ~ forest

(He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil, 2025)