Artist Tanja McMillan arrived on earth in 1982.

Growing up in tropical Queensland, from her earliest age creative expression became her way of interacting in and with the world around her.

As a shy, dreamy child Tanja was nourished by her connection to her Asia-Pacific heritage and a childhood of art, dance and costume provided with love by her costume designer Mama, builder Father and a close connection to her Mémé (grandmother).

Tanja was happiest drawing and making, and like a fish in water, this is still her natural element.

At the age of 12 Tanja moved to Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland with her Mum and Sister, where they had family ties to explore.

Tanja’s heritage is French Polynesian Tahitian, Hakka Chinese, Australian and NZ Pakeha, a rich tapestry whose vibrant threads pulse with energy upon which Tanja often draws.

Her heritage and the links she feels with ancestors, and indeed her sense of being part of nature and therefore the universe, is a gift she shares through her art, her use of colour and the narratives she weaves.

As a teen Tanja attended Auckland Metropolitan College alternative school and spent much time in the art room, at this juncture she made friends with young graffiti obsessed artists and began taking her characters on to the streets, gaining the name Misery.

The DIY spirit and the world-as-your-canvas reality of street art was very much in keeping with Tanja’s nature, today she still relishes working big, the movements necessary to creating larger scale works are like the steps of a dance, a kind of physical embodiment of the ritual of art making.

Putting in the mahi with her friends and creating their own exhibitions Tanja exhibited in Aotearoa and extensively overseas. Her practice grew to encompass fashion and commercial projects, which in turn enabled travel, exploring different cultures, ways of living and absorbing folk art and the wonder of the world first hand.

In 2008 Tanja decided to put Art making at the forefront and concerntrate her energies on her personal practice, her creative expression, her happy place.

Tanja’s life is a busy and colourful one, with her Husband Tomtom and their children, creativity and fun are always on the menu. Tanja enjoys a vibrant and supportive network of family and friends, community is important to her. The energy of Tanja’s life both overflows into her art, and can also be seen as the seed from which her art grows. It is an infinite cyclacal dance, and she embraces the magic of it.

Tanja’s paintings are like windows into other worlds, when we engage with her work we marvel at the magic in the microbe, the whimsy in the worm, we want be there and have a conversation with that conifer, ride on the back of that snail, hold hands with the hollyhock.

Tanja’s research is vast and eclectic, she is drawn to traditions and cultures which align with how Tanja likes to think of everything in the world as having energy. Inspired by Japanese art and her own reflections and discoveries Tanja uses personification and anthropomorphic devices to translate this idea of the « energy in everything »  her work.

“The sweetness and melancholy of expression captured by Tanja’s brush, the joyful eroticism, and delicate depiction of gesture present in her work is delightful and instantly recognisable. Tanja’s work also examines the shadow side that is part of the human condition, often in a hummouristic fashion, this too is part of what makes her work so interesting.”HMM