Christine Hellyar is best known as one of New Zealand’s most thought-provoking and innovative sculptors. Born and raised in New Plymouth, Hellyar studied sculpture at Auckland University. In 1982 she was one of the first two women ever selected to represent New Zealand at the Biennale of Sydney. After extensive international travel, she later returned to Auckland to teach. During this time she was awarded the first Adam Award for her significant contribution to New Zealand Art.

Throughout the 2000’s Hellyar has continued to win awards and residencies for her work, predominantly in sculpture. Hellyar has shown extensively internationally and her work is in most public collections in New Zealand.

The artist describes the overall theme of her work as related to the domestication and socialisation of the found landscape. Use of natural and found objects reflect her respect for the environment and her concern about the human abuse of it. By using real things, and making copies of real things, Hellyar asks us to consider the way we use objects as ‘evidence’ or markers of history, memory, and knowledge. She has long had an interest in botany and the visual categorisation and representation of plants. In Germinal she continues her engagement with New Zealand rainforest and the vital forms of its ferns, vines and tree trunks.