After living overseas for 14 years, I am nature let me in marks James Watkins’ return with his first solo painting exhibition in Aotearoa. Watkins’ unique mixed-media approach invites the viewer into his own visual ecosystem, prompting contemplation, and meditating on how painting can operate as a tool for self-reflection, growth, and integration. This energetic and organic body of work unearths subconscious themes around the idea of home, while reflecting on and combining ecstatic experiences of Aotearoa’s natural world with concepts of wider universal connectivity. James examines themes of abundance and the healing power—both psychological and physical—of immersing ourselves in nature and its resonance through a practice of painting. I am nature, let me in, speaks to the elusive desire to be ever closer and more immersed in the environment; to openly marvel at the sublime beauty of the world, in an attempt to consciously move back towards a more personal, engaged relationship with our surroundings. To recognise ourselves as part of nature, not other or separate—and to place ourselves within the stream as active participants, not passive observers.

After living overseas for 14 years, I am nature let me in marks James Watkins’ return with his first solo painting exhibition in Aotearoa. Watkins’ unique mixed-media approach invites the viewer into his own visual ecosystem, prompting contemplation, and meditating on how painting can operate as a tool for self-reflection, growth, and integration. This energetic and organic body of work unearths subconscious themes around the idea of home, while reflecting on and combining ecstatic experiences of Aotearoa’s natural world with concepts of wider universal connectivity. James examines themes of abundance and the healing power—both psychological and physical—of immersing ourselves in nature and its resonance through a practice of painting.

I am nature, let me in, speaks to the elusive desire to be ever closer and more immersed in the environment; to openly marvel at the sublime beauty of the world, in an attempt to consciously move back towards a more personal, engaged relationship with our surroundings. To recognise ourselves as part of nature, not other or separate—and to place ourselves within the stream as active participants, not passive observers.

After living overseas for 14 years, I am nature let me in marks James Watkins’ return with his first solo painting exhibition in Aotearoa. Watkins’ unique mixed-media approach invites the viewer into his own visual ecosystem, prompting contemplation, and meditating on how painting can operate as a tool for self-reflection, growth, and integration. This energetic and organic body of work unearths subconscious themes around the idea of home, while reflecting on and combining ecstatic experiences of Aotearoa’s natural world with concepts of wider universal connectivity. James examines themes of abundance and the healing power—both psychological and physical—of immersing ourselves in nature and its resonance through a practice of painting.

I am nature, let me in, speaks to the elusive desire to be ever closer and more immersed in the environment; to openly marvel at the sublime beauty of the world, in an attempt to consciously move back towards a more personal, engaged relationship with our surroundings. To recognise ourselves as part of nature, not other or separate—and to place ourselves within the stream as active participants, not passive observers.

After living overseas for 14 years, I am nature let me in marks James Watkins’ return with his first solo painting exhibition in Aotearoa. Watkins’ unique mixed-media approach invites the viewer into his own visual ecosystem, prompting contemplation, and meditating on how painting can operate as a tool for self-reflection, growth, and integration. This energetic and organic body of work unearths subconscious themes around the idea of home, while reflecting on and combining ecstatic experiences of Aotearoa’s natural world with concepts of wider universal connectivity. James examines themes of abundance and the healing power—both psychological and physical—of immersing ourselves in nature and its resonance through a practice of painting.

I am nature, let me in, speaks to the elusive desire to be ever closer and more immersed in the environment; to openly marvel at the sublime beauty of the world, in an attempt to consciously move back towards a more personal, engaged relationship with our surroundings. To recognise ourselves as part of nature, not other or separate—and to place ourselves within the stream as active participants, not passive observers.

After living overseas for 14 years, I am nature let me in marks James Watkins’ return with his first solo painting exhibition in Aotearoa. Watkins’ unique mixed-media approach invites the viewer into his own visual ecosystem, prompting contemplation, and meditating on how painting can operate as a tool for self-reflection, growth, and integration. This energetic and organic body of work unearths subconscious themes around the idea of home, while reflecting on and combining ecstatic experiences of Aotearoa’s natural world with concepts of wider universal connectivity. James examines themes of abundance and the healing power—both psychological and physical—of immersing ourselves in nature and its resonance through a practice of painting.

I am nature, let me in, speaks to the elusive desire to be ever closer and more immersed in the environment; to openly marvel at the sublime beauty of the world, in an attempt to consciously move back towards a more personal, engaged relationship with our surroundings. To recognise ourselves as part of nature, not other or separate—and to place ourselves within the stream as active participants, not passive observers.