"Fabric printing allows me to ignite my practical drawings and develop ideas."

Henry is a New Zealand-born Samoan. He was educated at Hillary College in Otara. He had a promising rugby league career in Australia until an accident left him paralysed. He was told he would "never walk again".

Against great odds he rehabilitated himself and set upon an art career.

Henry did a short course in Graphic Design at Manukau Polytechnic in Auckland and then went on to a Foundation course for Graphic Design. In 1993 he began a diploma in Fine Art at Whitecliffe Art School graduating in 1995 with an Advanced Diploma.

"Being a painter of Pacific expression I wanted to experiment more with design in various mediums."

So in 1998 Henry did a Fabric Printing course at A.I.T. He found that the skills he learnt allowed him to create fabric with a very distinctive Pacific flavour. Henry exhibited in both solo and group shows. He worked as a tutor in Pacific Island Visual Arts at the Ace Academy in Otara and taught Pacific Art and Design on the Certificate in Fabric Printing at AUT University in 2000 and 2001.

"I was inspired to create my own personal style, with a strong influence from my Samoan culture. Most of the patterns are homeland based, with the manipulation of other Pacific Island designs incorporated around it."

Henry Wilson passed away peacefully on April 30th 2001 at the age of 32.