For Liam

Amandeep Rakhra · Aotearoa, New Zealand

This work was created in honour of a life that continues beyond presence, and the strength of a mother who carries that love forward.

This piece came from a brief conversation that carried a depth far beyond its time. In listening, there was a quiet realisation that what we often call pain in our own lives is not always the same as what others carry with grace.

The figure holds a moment of reflection, where memory, music, and presence remain intertwined. It is not a depiction of loss alone, but of what continues through love, through impact, and through the lives touched along the way.

This work is not about holding onto what is gone, but about recognising what remains. A reminder that even in the deepest absence, there can still be purpose, movement, and a reason to keep going.

Context

Liam's Story

Liam Ranby lived in Northland during the COVID lockdown, while his family was in Auckland under full restrictions. He was an incredible guitarist and bass player, someone with a deep, old soul and a naturally loving presence.

While training at the gym, Liam collapsed due to a brain bleed caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a rare condition involving tangled blood vessels in the brain. Despite efforts to save him, he remained in a coma and was declared brain dead on the 8th of October 2021.

In the midst of unimaginable loss, Liam's family made the decision to donate his organs. Through this, Liam helped nine people, including lifesaving transplants, and giving a second chance to a three-year-old girl.

Due to COVID restrictions, only a small number of people could attend his farewell.

Yet Liam's life continues, through the people he helped, and through the love his family carries forward every day.

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