Hera Wing is GlogauAIR resident from July 2026 to September 2026. Q3

Hera is a multi-modal artist from New Zealand, residing in Melbourne, Australia. She blends creative practices, mediums and disciplines—using sensorial stimuli, found objects and new media to distill surreal imagery into immersive worlds that bend notions of utopia and dystopia.

Raised off-grid in the forests of northern New Zealand, she developed a deep affinity for biological structures and the rhythms of the natural world. This solitude nurtured an enduring curiosity for human psychology and the interplay between internal perception, external realities, and technological interference.

Her work often explores chimeric hybrids—biological and technological forms tangled in dreamlike refractions of life and sentience. What first appears alien reveals its earthly origins upon closer inspection, reflecting the fluidity of nature and an ever-blurring line between the natural and the engineered.

Meet the Artist

Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

I am based in Melbourne, and I have been living there for about 10 years. I’ve been in the festival art scene, and within that, the visionary art scene for quite a while. I’ve ended up doing so many different things, because I’ve had this platform where experimentation is encouraged.

You were raised off-grid in northern New Zealand, which, I imagine, inspired your practice as well. What were the main influences in channeling your interests and ideas into creating?

Yes, absolutely. I would say it’s the core of my work and magic is an extension of that. It’s a way to tap into that imagination, wonder, and curiosity. And this is how we learn, right? This is how we grow; through experimentation.

Does that mean you can let go of striving for perfectionism?

I think it’s just a matter of what material, what mode is going to convey the narrative best. It all supports building these worlds and their layers together. It’s the purpose of the art as well. If I’m doing an exhibition, I’m going to focus primarily on painting and have these kinds of little portals. It’s also a process; I always start with painting and drawing, and then the sculptures are a further exploration of texture, structure and silhouette.

With costume, it’s a way of bringing all that into the third dimension. With animation, you’re adding the fourth dimension; you can depict time, and bring these things to life even more. So with each layer, I am making things more and more real. I think that’s what different mediums help me do.

What role does magic play in your practice of world-building and storytelling? How do you incorporate animism?

Photos // Dari

Interviewer // Veronika Laczai