Born in 1939 in Christchurch, Fomison has been a notable painter since 1961. Initially his paintings were copies of Old Masters whose work had impressed him, it was not until 1967 that he returned to Christchurch and found a new purpose for his work and talent. His previous experience as an ethnologist at Canterbury Museum culminated his interest in Maori rock drawings of the central South Island. He began making tracings and evolved his own chronology of stylistic development in relation to the past. His work imbues a sense of Gauguin’s art nouveau and Tahitian carving, with its primitive mythic quality. Fomison also had previous interest in the photographic form which later reflected in his work with a medical understanding in mind. A key technique applied by Fomison was his use of chiaroscuro and a limited colour palette of browns, blacks and umbers, sometimes blues, creams and whites were used to develop a stark contrast in his works. His works are often rich with symbology, reflecting on the metaphysical journey one takes and the fate that awaits humans when their journey is done. Fomison work makes a link to Colin McCahon's sparse New Zealand landscape, documenting the hope and despair which riddled McCahon's work.
