From January 2018 until January 2019, Wellington-based artist and writer Gregory O’Brien, and his wife, poet Jenny Bornholdt, lived and worked in the Ernst Plischke designed Henderson House, Alexandra - an artist residency run by the Henderson Arts Trust. With the neighbouring Clutha River being a dominant and ever-present part of daily life, this year-long project has allowed Gregory to develop a body of work that responds to the histories and environs of Central Otago. The Wading Birds Of Drybread showcases 22 paintings from his year-long residency.

Gregory O’Brien was born in Matamata in 1961. As well as writing poetry, fiction and non-fiction, he has exhibited widely as a painter and printmaker. Exhibitions include Whale Years, a solo exhibition at the Tauranga Art Gallery (2014-15) and Kermadec - nine artists in the South Pacific (2011-16). In addition to producing three books introducing contemporary art to young people, O’Brien has written extensively on New Zealand artists including Ralph Hotere, Barry Brickell, Elizabeth Thomson and Nigel Brown.