Owen Mapp

Owen Thomas Mapp (born 1945) is a New Zealand carver who works primarily in bone.

Biography Born on a farm outside Blenheim in 1945, He started working in museums while at high school and developed a strong interest in archaeology. He also worked early in his career as a designer for film and television.

Mapp began carving with whale ivory, whale bone and cow bone in 1969. He became the first contemporary professional bone carver in New Zealand. His first exhibition was at Wellington's Bett-Duncan Gallery in 1972.

In his survey of three-dimensional arts in New Zealand in 1980, Peter Cape wrote, 'Mapp prefers to think of the items he carves in bone and ivory as handpieces or, as he says, 'three-dimensional sculptures to be worn on the body or carried in the pocket, to be held, fondled, and not just looked art'.'

Mapp is based in Wellington with his wife and fellow artist Hanne Eriksen-Mapp.