Judy Darragh

Judith Ann Darragh (born 1957) is a New Zealand artist who uses found objects to create sculptural assemblages. She has also worked in paint and film. Darragh is represented in a number of public collections in New Zealand. In 2004, The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa held a major retrospective of her work titled Judy Darragh: So... You Made It?

Early life and education Darragh was born and raised in Christchurch. Her mother worked in a clothing factory and her father was a freezing worker. Darragh described being surrounded by "the joy of making" in her home environment, Darragh moved to Auckland where she gained a Diploma in Teaching from Auckland Secondary School Teachers College in 1980. She has described how her teaching career has supported her art-making and provided her with a sense of freedom in her practice. Darragh then went on to start Cuckoo, an artist-run project based in Auckland that was described as 'the artist-run space without a space' with four other artists in 2000.

Pornographic imagery In 2013, Darragh exhibited 'Doctor, 2013' at Gus Fisher Gallery in the show 'A Different view: artists address pornography.' The exhibition examined the impact of the pornography industry on New Zealand society and sought to open up a conversation about the 'silent business'. The artwork which she exhibited in this show (Doctor, 2013) was taken from a Hustler centrefold, then enlarged and printed onto a PVC skin which was a reference to the advertising industry. and Flicker of Life, 1987), as well as direct painting onto pornographic images using white-out.

Comic strips In the 1980s, under the alias Blossom, Darragh's comic strips were published in the New Zealand underground comic book series Strips. Her comic strips have also been published in Three Words: An anthology of Aotearoa/NZ women's comics.

Shrine series Darragh developed her signature kitsch aesthetic while living in Auckland in the 1980s, where she was working as secondary school teacher. and collecting bric-a-brac from markets, second hand shops and op shops. Her first assemblage works brought together these made and found objects into what she has described as "shrines". Darragh first exhibited her art at Artspace, in Auckland's George Fraser Gallery.

Collections Auckland Art Gallery Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Christchurch Art Gallery Dunedin Public Art Gallery Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Lincoln University Collection, Christchurch Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua, Whanganui