Mark Adams was born in Linwood, Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, in 1949. He studied at Ilam School of Fine Arts, University of Christchurch (graduating in 1970), where he taught himself large-format analogue photography. Since then, he has photographed all over the country focusing on the cultural convergences of postcolonial Aotearoa New Zealand, its landscapes and its people. He is notable for his groundbreaking work photographing Samoan tatau practices and revisiting sites of historical importance in Aotearoa New Zealand. Adams has been the recipient of several residencies and awards, including the Southland Art Foundation Artist in Residence in 1997; the Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, and the Marti Friedlander Photographic Award, both in 2009. His work has also been the subject of a number of publications, including Tatau: Samoan Tattoo, New Zealand Art, Global Culture, published by Te Papa Press in 2010 and reissued in a new edition in 2023. Adams lives and works in Oxford, Te Waipounamu, and Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
