Portrait of Deb Donnelly

This is a portrait of textile artist Deb Donnelly, photographed with some of her own Shibori fabric. Deb, who is of mixed Japanese-Pākehā heritage, has represented New Zealand many times at the World Shibori Festival.

Several women in Deb’s family have shown a talent with textiles over the generations – her great-grandmother was the village weaver while her mother, Setsuko Yotsugi, was also a proficient knitter. Her own interest in Shibori first began after she received a grant from the Japanese Ministry of Education to study printmaking in Japan. That trip was personally significant to Deb, helping her to understand how hard it was for her mother to ‘assimilate’ into New Zealand culture – ‘I felt much closer to her after that.’

Deb’s mother Setsuko Donnelly (née Yotsugi) was a foundation member of the Japan Society of New Zealand, established in 1959. She was made a Life Member in 1980 for her service to the society. Both of Deb’s parents were often called upon to be Wellington community liaisons to facilitate Japanese trade and diplomatic relations during the late 1960s and early 1970s. For Setsuko, kimonos were a key marker of Japanese identity; she owned several herself and there were many opportunities for her children to wear them at events she helped facilitate. Working with textiles is one way Deb is able to feel connected to her mother – the skills she has learnt have also helped her to understand more about the kimonos and other textiles her mother left to the family after her death.

This photograph is part of a set of 24 photographs featuring twelve people who are either Japanese immigrants to New Zealand, their children, or descendants of Japanese New Zealanders. The images were carefully staged for an exhibition in 2016 which was, in turn, the outcome of a project sponsored by the Japan Society of Wellington and organized by Japan Society member Susan Zou and Noriko Murakami in 2016.

*Text based on interview summaries by Susan Zou for the ‘Japanese Immigrants' experiences in New Zealand’ photographic exhibition, 2016.