Season

9.1

HERO PARADE

Leo Bensemann

Tony Guo

Paul Johns

Douglas MacDiarmid

Douglas MacDiarmid

Richard McWhannell

Richard McWhannell

John Miller

Neke Moa

Luca Nicholas

박성환 Sung Hwan Bobby Park

박성환 Sung Hwan Bobby Park

Murray Savidan

Maungarongo Te Kawa

Maungarongo Te Kawa

A. Lois White

Jane Zusters

12.02.26–14.03.26

Hero Parade coincides with Auckland Pride Festival 2026. The title acknowledges the parade of the same name and the wider Hero Festival, which ran from 1992 to 2001 and was the predecessor of Auckland Pride.

NEKE MOA
Kai a te rangatira—food fit for a chief, 2025
Anga tuatua (Takapuna), wax cord, peita
330 x 250 x 10mm

DOUGLAS MACDIARMID
Lay Your Sleeping Head I, 2012
Acrylic on paper
450 x 640mm (paper)
550 x 740 x 35mm (frame)
Fletcher Trust Collection, Tāmaki Makaurau

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RICHARD MCWHANNELL
This man shriven, 1989
Oil on canvas on board
420 x 750 x 25mm

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RICHARD MCWHANNELL
This man shriven (2nd version), c. 2016–2026
Oil on linen
450 x 900 x 25mm

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A. LOIS WHITE
Self-Portrait at Easel, c. 1953
Oil on board
490 x 275mm (image)
675 x 460 x 50mm (frame)
Fletcher Trust Collection, Tāmaki Makaurau

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MAUNGARONGO TE KAWA
He tripped and fell on my patu seventeen times, 2026
Mixed media quilt
2000 x 800mm

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JANE ZUSTERS
Freudian Slips, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, 1981
Gelatin silver print
Unique
150 x 225mm (image)
410 x 475 x 10mm (framed)

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JANE ZUSTERS
Chiara, Tracey, Marianne with poodles, Douglas Street, Tāmaki Makaurau, 1983
Gelatin silver print
Unique
140 x 215mm (image)
385 x 465 x 10mm (framed)

NEKE MOA
QUEEN!, 2025
Chrysoprase, pūpū rore (Ōtaki), jute, peita, muka
430 x 140 x 35mm

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LUCA NICHOLAS
BEARD CHEESECUTTER HOLD, 2022
Silkscreen monotype and dust from Recycle Boutique on Fabriano Tiepolo
900 x 700mm (paper)
1095 x 805mm (frame)

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TONY GUO
Xin, 2025
Oil on linen
1000 x 505 x 35mm

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TONY GUO
I killed my boyfriend, 2026
Oil on linen
305 x 355 x 25mm

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TONY GUO
不疯魔，不成活 Without obsession, I cannot survive, 2026
Oil on linen
305 x 355 x 25mm

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JOHN MILLER
Ngāhuia Volkerling (now Te Awekōtuku) speaking in front of ‘Will Victorian morality ever die?’ sign, Gay Day Happening, Albert Park, Tāmaki Makaurau, 11 April 1972
Printed 2019
Gelatin silver print
Unique
290 x 190mm (image)
435 x 325 x 25mm (frame)
Coutts Josland Collection, Tāmaki Makaurau

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JOHN MILLER
‘Gay Liberation’ sign, Gay Day Happening, Albert Park, Tāmaki Makaurau, 11 April 1972
Printed 2019
Gelatin silver print
Unique
290 x 190mm (image)
435 x 325 x 25mm (frame)
Coutts Josland Collection, Tāmaki Makaurau

CATALOGUE

'The exhibition spans the late 1930s and the present day, bringing together works provided by Season artists and borrowed from private collections. It pays tribute to a panoply of queer role models: atua, ancestors, trailblazers, icons, lovers, friends, hookups, colleagues.'

The catalogue for Hero Parade includes short texts on the works and artists included.

Download PDF ↘

PAUL JOHNS
Beverley
Screenprint (enamel ink) on canvas
200 x 200 x 25mm
Private collection, Tāmaki Makaurau
Works by Paul Johns are available via Commode, Te Whanganui-a-Tara

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NEKE MOA
Atuaiti, 2025
Pakohe (Ōraka Colac Bay), anga, bone, jute
315 x 195 x 15mm

MURRAY SAVIDAN & WITI IHIMAERA
Out There: Portraits of the Hero Parade
Tāmaki Makaurau: Savidan Productions, 2001
Private collection, Tāmaki Makaurau

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A. LOIS WHITE
Sleeping, c. 1960
Oil on canvas on board
600 x 750mm (image)
780 x 930 x 30mm (frame)
Fletcher Trust Collection, Tāmaki Makaurau

MAUNGARONGO TE KAWA
Tāne Mahuta, 2026
Mixed media quilted soft sculpture
630 x 640 x 220mm

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박성환 SUNG HWAN BOBBY PARK
Gods Special Edition, 2024
Collage, nail polish, wooden board
305 x 305 x 40mm

박성환 SUNG HWAN BOBBY PARK
Gay Seggii, 2024
Collage, nail polish, wooden board
410 x 305 x 25mm

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NEKE MOA
Tūwaewae and the taniwha, 2025
Pakohe (Ōraka Colac Bay), wax cord, peita, bone, pungapunga, kakanui garnet
300 x 235 x 110mm

박성환 SUNG HWAN BOBBY PARK
Calculating Sarang (love), 2024
Found object collage, latex, porcelain, nail polish, stretched canvas
405 x 305 x 25mm

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RICHARD MCWHANNELL
Head of a Man (against light), 1979
Oil on linen
495 x 360mm (work)
615 x 480 x 25mm (frame)

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MAUNGARONGO TE KAWA
Tangaroa, 2026
Mixed media quilted soft sculpture
700 x 650 x 250mm

LEO BENSEMANN
Harry Courtney Archer,
c. 1939
Oil on canvas
500 x 430mm (work)
550 x 475 x 60mm (frame)
Fletcher Trust Collection, Tāmaki Makaurau

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NEKE MOA
Rauru kōpūtahi, 2024
Paewai, pounamu raurēkau, pōkinikini, dye, pāua, dye, bone, pencil
575 x 120 x 75mm

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JOHN MILLER
Caterina de Nave (wearing ‘I am your worst fear/I am your best fantasy’ sandwich board) and Sue Kedgley, Gay Day Happening, Albert Park, Tāmaki Makaurau, 11 April 1972
Gelatin silver print
Unique
235 x 155mm (image)
380 x 290 x 25mm (frame)
Coutts Josland Collection, Tāmaki Makaurau

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JOHN MILLER
Caterina de Nave (wearing ‘I am your worst fear/I am your best fantasy’ sandwich board), Gay Day Happening, Albert Park, Tāmaki Makaurau, 11 April 1972
Gelatin silver print
Unique
235 x 155mm (image)
380 x 290 x 25mm (frame)
Coutts Josland Collection, Tāmaki Makaurau