Photo by Benny Capp from his 2021 exhibition showcasing Australia’s best set designers, decorators, and curators in Film and Television. The participating artists were asked to create sets that reflected their personalities and lifestyles. All sets were built and photographed at All Time Studios during a time when many subjects faced a significant reduction in work due to COVID-19 restrictions. Visit unscenesets.com to see the rest of the stunning sets and their creators!
About
Victoria McKenzie, a New Zealand-born talent with over 25 years in the film industry, has made a significant mark as a set decorator and art director, including her work on the mini-series Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You. She began her career as one of the Heads of Set Dressing for The Lord of the Rings, utilizing her Diploma of Craft Design from the Nelson School of Design. There, she honed skills in basket weaving, woodworking, dyeing, loom weaving, printmaking, paper making, pottery, and bronze casting—perfect for creating handmade props and set pieces.
After relocating to Australia in 2001 with her collection of handwoven baskets and shell necklaces, Victoria has contributed to over 50 productions, including crafting hand-sewn possum cloaks for The Reincarnation of William Buckley and a six-meter-high paper effigy for the SBS series Hungry Ghosts. Her impressive portfolio also features decorating Phryne Fisher’s 1920s mansion for Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, recreating Charmian Biggs' 1960s home for Mrs Biggs, and designing a circa 1660s marketplace and tavern at Montsalvat, along with a gypsy village for Judy and Punch. More recently, she has focused on commercials in Melbourne, leveraging her expertise in creating visually stunning TVCs.
Before her film career, Victoria worked as a Textile Tutor and Landscape Gardener, and she designed for the NZ underwear company Thunderpants.
When she’s not immersed in design, Victoria enjoys tending to her garden, expanding her Pacifica collections in her beautifully renovated 1940s Melbourne home, and adventuring in her vintage 1969 Franklin Regent caravan.
Article by Shelby Deering from American Fleamarket Magazine. Photographs by Kate Hansen. 2019
