Jago Neal is a mixed-media artist, illustrator, photographer, and author originally from London, now based in West Auckland, New Zealand. Working from his home studio and darkroom, he combines photography with drawing, painting, and collage to create work that moves between observation and imagination. His work has been exhibited extensively in both the UK and New Zealand through solo and group exhibitions, and in 2024 he self-published his first children's book, The Magic Campsite.
Born into a family of artists and photographers, Jago grew up surrounded by art books, galleries, cameras, and darkrooms. Drawing was a constant from an early age, eventually leading him to study Illustration and Photography as part of a BA in Art and Design in London. A passion for visual storytelling later inspired years of travel, filling journals and sketchbooks with observations of people, places, and landscapes.
A trained art and photography teacher, Jago taught in secondary schools across Auckland before moving into arts leadership. Alongside his own creative practice, he is the Manager of Kumeū Arts, where he has curated hundreds of exhibitions and worked closely with artists at all stages of their careers. He leads a diverse programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and community initiatives, while also overseeing fundraising, grant management, and strategic development. This unique position within the arts sector informs his understanding of both the creative process and the wider cultural landscape.
'The Immigrant 2006'
Oil on Canvas
2017
Recent years have seen Jago present a number of successful solo exhibitions while continuing to contribute regularly to group shows. His own practice remains driven by curiosity, experimentation, and a desire to explore new ways of seeing. Photography often provides the starting point, particularly through analogue and darkroom-based processes, before evolving through drawing, painting, or collage. Inspired by the natural environment, everyday moments, memory, music, and imagination, his work seeks to capture both the observed and the felt experience of the world around us.