Donna Sarten began her art practice with an investigation into Anxiety using photography as a medium, but soon moved into the area of sculpture, where she found she could use a variety of media and was challenged by the scope sculptural work offered. She investigates topics that sit outside society’s comfort zone, ranging from war to child abuse, asking us to think about things that are often pushed aside and not talked about.

While studying for her Masters degree at Elam, she narrowed down her research into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, exploring some of the lesser-discussed aspects of the war experience had by New Zealand soldiers. Touching on subjects such as conscientious objectors, and the effect that post-traumatic stress disorders had on soldiers. Her work continues to draw attention to specific historical and present events and aims to raise our awareness, of war and its results. 

Donna was involved in the hard-hitting exhibition, ‘Raw War’ that featured at the CEAC gallery in 2006. Her installation work, which explored issues such as ‘conscientious objectors and post-traumatic stress’, featured a life-size boy soldier, sculpted from over 3000 plastic toy soldiers, as well as a wall of over 800 bullet-stemmed poppies. This kind of flawless and painstaking dedication to detail, evident in Donna’s work, is characteristic of her style which often explores some of the more shocking and confrontational subjects such as war, religion, child abuse, and the treatment of special-needs people. 

Donna was the joint winner of the Waikato Contemporary Art Award 2004.
In 2008 Sarten, with three other artists, formed the ‘Habeas Corpus’ art collective. They had their first show ‘T [error]’ at Corban Estate Arts Centre (to view works from this show go to www.myspace.com/habeascorpuscollective). One of Sarten’s sculpture works for this show, consisted of a billboard ‘Support The Troops’ made up of 4112 American solders, (using plastic toy soldiers) and 80,000 Iraqi civilians made from clay. She has also had work in other Corban’s exhibitions including, ‘Material Concerns’, and ‘Western Gothic’.

Most recently Donna won first prize in the Waitakere Trust Art Awards and Lincoln Green Sculpture Award 2008, with her work ‘SMACK’, which looks at child abuse in New Zealand. She also received 3rd place for her work Kai Kete in the Waitakere Trust Art Awards Twin Streams Project Sculpture Award. 

Her work is held in private and public collections both in New Zealand and overseas.

Donna Sarten and Bernie Harfleet share a space; their studio reflects their close relationship. The welcoming and highly productive space is filled with a shared plethora of collectables such as war paraphernalia, antique dolls, tins, and books as well as their past and current artworks, which include paintings, photography and sculpture.