Since 2010, Sarah Walker-Holt has been testing the tactile qualities of wearable objects through wood and mechanisms that have intermittently incorporated print, textiles and moving image.

“From questioning the value bestowed in the materiality of everyday, minimal and functional found wooden objects, made from precious and non-precious timbers, I alter them into something complex and decorative for the body. Essentially, deconstruction, construction and engineering shaped my approach as I was intrigued by how things work. More recently, I have become attentive to the sustainability of my materials and challenging where and what I source.” 

Sarah Walker-Holt completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Auckland University, MSVA in 2010, where she received numerous prizes including the Fingers Graduating Students Award. In 2011, she won the New Zealand Contemporary Jewellery Award. Walker-Holt has exhibited nationally and internationally, and featured in the Dowse Art Museum’s travelling exhibition, Wunderrūma: New Zealand Jewellery. In 2014–2015 she was mentored by Helen Britton for Handshake 2: Prentice and Prodigy, and was successively selected for Handshake 3 in 2016–2017. In 2016 she travelled to Europe as a participant in multiple Handshake exhibitions and a masterclass with Helen Britton. In 2019, she was again selected for Handshake 5, presenting at CODA and Te Uru.