Get to know Chloe Mason

From experimenting with Cyanotypes and 'printing' directly onto glass plates, to submerging her film in beds of seaweed or burring it in soft sands at low tide to see what might happen when the chemistry of the natural and human-made worlds collide, Wellington based photographer Chloe Mason's approach to her art is anything but stereotypical.

Mason graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Toi Ruawhārangi College of Creative Arts, Massey University in 2023. While she is just beginning her career as a fine artist, her sensitive, environmentally considered and innovative alternative-process driven photography practice is already making an impact on the New Zealand art scene.

Rejecting the notion that the artist is in control and embracing the unknown possibilities and potentials of collaborating with the non-human, Mason's images are as beautiful and otherworldly as one would expect. 

Jessica Agoston Cleary recently talked to Mason to find out more about what inspires her practice, discovering that for Mason, the camera itself plays a relatively small role in the act of art making. 

Jessica Agoston Cleary: Before we dive into your art practice, can you tell me where you're from and how you introduce yourself? 

Chloe Mason: I'm a Pākehā artist and curator of English and Scottish descent, raised in Tākaka, at the very top of Te Waipounamu, the South Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand. After finishing my degree at Massey, I now live and working in Pōneke, Wellington.

JAC: If you had to define your work, placing it within the context of contemporary art practice in Aotearoa and globally, how would you define it? Which established artists/ would you say your work is akin to?

CM: I make photographic and video works using alternative processes, taking inspiration from artists like Susan Derges, Ann Hamilton, Ana Mendieta, Tacita Dean and Francesca Woodman. 

I aim to consolidate my time spent both outdoors and in the darkroom, by looking at the parallels between eco-somatics and analogue photography. I try to prioritise getting to know land slowly and letting go of outcome in favour of collaboration with the non-human. 

Making photographs with the ocean has made me think about the histories of the water I swim in and the existing meanings of a place, before imposing my own.

JAC: Can you describe your creative process?

CM: While I love cameras, I am a bit disenchanted with the sometimes extractive process of ‘taking’ a photograph. I find that alternative processes help me to connect with every single material involved.

From the strength of the sun’s rays to the health of the water, I have a new awareness of photography’s intense relationship between the human and non-human.

I am quite process-led, and I enjoy choosing a new technique, material or ritual and then allowing it to inform my work, as I find meaning through making. 

There’s an element of surrender to alternative photographic processes, where you have to give up control over the outcome. Last year I began to embrace this more and started making more collaborative works, by burying film cassettes amongst piles of seaweed along the intertidal zone of Mākara Beach. 

The resulting images visualise the pollutant load that seaweed absorbs from contaminated waters, as it eats away at the film emulsion for up to four weeks, reacting with the chemical makeup of the negative, and documenting what is not normally perceptible.

The process is slow, connected, and one of my greatest teachers. When I don’t get the results I want — for something more outcome-oriented like glass cyanotypes for example — it can be frustrating. There are often so many variables at play that it can be hard to pinpoint the issue. This encourages me to zoom out and hold a larger awareness of the process as a whole. 

JAC: What is inspiring you at the moment? What are you working on?

CM: Since finishing my degree in 2023, I have been refining my process and focusing on the integrity of my practice more. During university, my intentions would sometimes get lost as I was rushing to meet deadlines. Over the past year I have relished in the space to clarify how I want to move forward. 

I recently started burying loose sheets of 4x5, rather than keeping them in the cassette. This is a much faster process and requires me to bury/retrieve the film at night. I’m excited to continue with this technique and find other ways to refine the process. 

Moving forward, I’m excited to continue experimenting with different installation techniques as I’m still figuring out how to best present these images. 

I've previously backlit an image of 4x5 film that I’d buried in seaweed with a pine light-box. I love how the light-box illuminates detail and colour while serving as a reminder of the role light plays in the exposure of the film.

Chloe Mason joined Artfull in January 2025. Discover her work on her artist page and sign up for our email to be the first to know of new works and shows from Mason and our 70+ other artists.