Jeff Thomson, born Castor Bay, Auckland, New Zealand in 1957, attended Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1981. In 1980 he was based in Dunedin and spent the year travelling and walking around the South Island. He was Frances Hodgkins Fellow at the University of Otago in 1995.
His corrugated iron Holden car, (1991-1992), once parked outside Bowen Galleries on The Terrace, Wellington, has been exhibited in New Zealand and Australia. Its motor was 'donated' by a motorcycle gang. The Holden is now in the collection of Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.
His start-up of a Wanganui company that used screen-printed iron for everyday roofing and guttering applications, during his residency at Tylee Cottage in 2000, was a brief but enjoyable career turn, combining practicality with art. "It was great to solve problems in the environment rather than shoving stuff into bloody galleries. It's good to work in real time in the real world."
Jeff works mainly in old corrugated iron and new corrugated steel. His works are displayed in major private and public gallery collections in New Zealand and Australia, and he works on commissions in both countries. He exhibits in Germany and is looking forward to planned projects in Europe and the USA.
Jeff and his wife, Shona Cameron, live in a huge corrugated iron shed in Helensville, North Auckland, that is home, workshop and an ever-increasing library of corrugated iron. He has yet to run out of ideas for exploring the material's potential.