Piata Otene (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Pākehā) is currently (2024) studying Fine Arts, majoring in photography at Te Kura Kōwaiwai Te Whare Wānaga o Waitaha.
Within their lens-based practice which incorporates still and moving image, they navigate how they identify within the world as a queer and indigenous person.
While Piata’s work is made primarily for their community, their ulterior motive is to provoke broader discussion that might progress broader societal discussion. To do this, Piata often appropriates motifs and symbolisms from pop culture and societal structures for the purpose of reflection, satire or to pick apart values and ideas they hold.