Michel Tuffery attended Otago Polytechnic to 1989 and the School of Fine Arts at the University of Manoa, Hawaii, in 1990. He has undertaken residencies in New Zealand, Hong Kong and Australia at both community and institution level and has participated in numerous international exhibitions, symposiums and workshops. Renowned as a printmaker and sculptor, Tuffery has developed his art practise towards performance, sound, installation and audio-visual artwork. His artwork often incorporates political comments or observations and focuses on aspects of the Pacific not typically portrayed according to whether their experience is urban or island-based. Examples are held in a number of significant private and public collections, including the Centre Culturel Tjibaou Collection, Noumea, the Museum für Völkerkunde, Frankfurt, Germany, and the National Gallery of Australia.