SPY: NZ celebrity photographer Jae Frew’s new fine art exhibition

He’s one of New Zealand’s most successful contemporary photographers, with a career capturing the country’s biggest celebrities.

But this month Jae Frew is showcasing a different side of his work with
an exhibition dedicated to NZ native birds and natural environment.

His name may be unfamiliar, but many will certainly have seen Frew’s work.

For more than 30 years, he has photographed NZ’s most recognisable faces, spanning everyone from Dame Jacinda Ardern to Paula Bennett, Dame Lisa Carrington to Ruby Tui, Sir John Kirwan to Sir Edmund Hillary, and many more.

Last month, when Dame Kiri Te Kanawa celebrated her 80th birthday with a woman’s magazine shoot, she personally requested Frew as the photographer.

“I guess my philosophy for my shoots is that I want my subjects to leave their time with me in front of my camera, having had fun and a good experience and that they are pleased with the results we have achieved together,” Frew tells Spy.

Frew says he doesn’t give a huge amount of direction during the shoot.

His approach to portraiture is to encourage authenticity in the sitter, allowing space for the subject’s true essence, or what they wish to convey, to be revealed and captured.

“Behind the scenes, there is always some laughing and even though we are all there to do a job, we try not to make it too serious.”

Frew describes Carrington as lovely, Kirwan a great human and says Tui is full of energy and fun.

“I shot Ruby in a community hall in Glenbrook and used fly spray to get a smoke effect in the back of the shot,” Frew tells Spy.

His new exhibition, Manu Kōingo: Birds of Yearning, debuts this month at Parnell Gallery – showcasing his work that pays tribute to NZ’s extinct and endangered native wildlife, while raising awareness of our fragile and diminishing forest life.

His move from portraits to wildlife photography came about during Covid lockdowns.

“My work basically stopped,” he says. “With the benefit of time and more head space, I explored what I would like to do if this all continued.”

Frew reflected on his childhood and remembered the times when he studied birds and had an aviary at home.

For his portraits of NZ’s extinct and endangered birds, Frew was granted access to collections and specimens held within institutions such as Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and spent hours observing his subjects from every angle.

“The work calls to mind a solemn dignity, a sense of high status, and that the subject of the photograph was – or is – beloved, important… revered.”

Frew’s career began in video production and broadcasting in the 1990s, as one of the original staff of TV3.

“The company had a small publicity department and I asked, when their assistant had left, if I could take the photos for their shows,” he says.

The first publicity shot he took was of Danny Watson for NZ Candid Camera, then local actors for series Homeward Bound, including Karl Urban, Simone Kessell, Peter Elliott and the late Liddy Holloway.

Frew then went on to other shows like City Life, Mercy Peak and Jackson’s Wharf, before starting to do work for magazines.

He says many of his commissions have come from the relationships he formed with the magazines and the people he photographed on the job.

“From there I built up a base and I am fortunate enough to have a wonderful list of amazing clients. I am hugely appreciative of their loyalty over the years.”

Frew’s work is an A-Z catalogue of the country’s acting talent and productions, featuring shots of news shows including Seven Sharp and Sunday, as well as a massive list of viewer favourites, including Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune and its prequel Westside.

“There have been so many great shoots with the talented actors and presenters in these shows.

“The epic shoots for the casts of Shortland Street and Outrageous Fortune are a standout.

“I am so grateful for the trust they put in me when in front of my camera and also to the ‘Pretty Committee’ [The makeup and stylists],” Frew says. “It is a real team effort.”

Manu Kōingo: Birds of Yearning is on now at Parnell Gallery until Sunday, April 21.