Peter Peryer (1941–2018)

Let’s start with the American photographer Ansel Adams who famously said, ‘Photography is about knowing where to stand’. Even a quick look at Peter Peryer’s work confirms that this was a man who knew how to be in the right place at the right time. And now standing’s on the table, that’s something else Peter was good at, standing up for photography itself. From his earliest experiments with a camera, Peter was a powerful advocate for a medium he felt both underrepresented and undervalued. If that makes him sound defensive it is not intended, for Peter was a larger-than-life presence in the New Zealand art scene for more than 40 years. His raucous laugh, voracious curiosity and old-world charm made him an unforgettable character and a memorable friend.

The first photograph of Peter’s we saw was published in in 1974. It was a self-portrait, a format that was to dominate his early work, and presciently he included his camera in the shot. Now that practically everyone has a camera with them at all times, the observation that we never saw Peter without one doesn’t really do justice to