Roger Mortimer is interested in the nature of attachment in the psychological sense. When this fundamental relational need is disrupted, it generates conflict, adaptive behaviour and distress. His paintings explore these themes and have been described as “an allegorical scrambling of time and geography, that pushes at the limits of the human imagination” [1], giving rise to a dense layering of colliding or intertwined worlds and systems. He has been aptly described as ‘a contemporary visual mythologist’ and is widely recognised for his distinctive use of medieval imagery, juxtaposed with early maps of Aotearoa.  Mortimer chooses to paint maps, which are tools for location. A map provides a space within which to locate yourself and to establish connections with your surroundings. It’s a way to identify a place, and to identify yourself in relation to other points, or points of view. Like maps, these paintings cannot be viewed in a glance. It takes time to take them in. As stories, they are innately personal, yet universal.