Jessica Thompson Carr (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Ruanui) is a 23-year-old artist based in Ōtepoti. She has a degree in English literature and Art History, and is currently working as an intern for Toi Māori in Christchurch at the Court Theatre. After this she will be returning to her Masters dissertation, looking at Māori ekphrastic poetry. She began sharing her art in 2017 as @Maori_Mermaid on Instagram, and has subsequently sold many prints and paintings. In 2018 she published a poetry zine titled The Māori Mermaid Sings in collaboration with artist Emily Crooks.
Jessica writes: ‘I use my art as a tool to understand and connect with my heritage as a Māori woman, and my poetry deals with the many questions and confusions I have over my identity. I am currently learning Te Reo and incorporating as much of my heritage and identity into my work as possible. This varies of course, as I vary with time and circumstance, but knowing who I am and where I come from will always be present in my art and poetry, even if it does not seem particularly obvious.’