Paerau Corneal was born in Rotorua and educated at Sunset Primary School, Sunset Intermediate and Rotorua Girls High. She continued her studies at Waiariki Polytechnic and graduated with a Certificate of Craft Design Māori in 1986 and a Diploma of Craft Design Māori in 1987. She is an artist and tutor of clay and fibre; she has shown her work in various exhibitions since 1988. She is also involved with family violence support work.
Biographical sources
- Correspondence from Paerau Corneal, 28 Jan. 1998.
- Spiral 7: A Collection of Lesbian Art and Writing from Aotearoa/New Zealand. Ed. Heather McPherson, Julie King, Marian Evans, and Pamela Gerrish Nunn. Wellington, N.Z.: Daphne Brasell, 1992. 161.
Non-fiction
- "Paerau Corneal." Spiral 7: A Collection of Lesbian Art and Writing from Aotearoa/New Zealand. Ed. Heather McPherson, Julie King, Marian Evans, and Pamela Gerrish Nunn. Wellington, N.Z.: Daphne Brasell, 1992. 161.
- In these explanatory notes accompanying photographs of her artwork, Paerau writes of her wakahuia series which she developed during her last year studying Craft Design at Waiariki Polytechnic.
Other
- Kurawaka. [Wellington, N.Z.]: Dowse Art Museum, 1994.
- In this exhibition catalogue, Megan Tamati-Quennell writes an introduction to the five Māori clay workers represented in the Kurawaka exhibition; these include Paerau Corneal, Manos Nathan, Baye Riddell, Wi Taepa and Colleen Waata Urlich. Quotations from the artists are included in the introduction; these were taken from transcripts of interviews conducted by Tamati-Quennell and Chris Pihema at a Mixed Media Hui held in Whāngārā in January 1994.