Lara’s photographs explore the threshold between human and more than human worlds engaging with themes of metamorphosis, mortality, stillness, and silence.
In 2025 she self published her debut book To Dust, a contemplative body of work tracing quiet connections between the body and the natural world, shaped by notions of inevitability and transformation.
Her work has received multiple awards including finalist recognition in the Kuala Lumpur Portrait Prize (2022) and the Lucie Foundation Portrait Awards (2021), and she was named Australasia’s Top Emerging Portrait Photographer in 2018. She was awarded First Prize at the Taranaki Art Awards (2023). Gilks’ photography has been featured in Art New Zealand (Winter 2022) and Lenscratch (October 2025). She has exhibited widely in group shows across Europe. the States, Asia, and throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
