Material is where Ornthira’s practice begins.

Working across jewellery, printmaking and digital media, she approaches making as a way of thinking through diaspora, contrast, and place. Shaped by her Thai heritage and her experience growing up in Aotearoa ~ New Zealand, her work engages with nature both as subject and collaborator.

Her process is intuitive and form-seeking. She thinks through materials, allowing texture, line and structure to guide the development of each work. Influenced by graphic composition and spatial awareness, her practice moves between subtle restraint and bold visual gesture.

Curiosity underpins her work - particularly how objects carry and shift meaning across cultural contexts, and how perception changes depending on place and audience. Based in Whangārei, she continues to develop a material-led practice grounded in experimentation and cultural identity.