Four Worlds Tarot

Reading event
Second edition
Collaborators
White book


fourworldstarot Four Worlds is a collaborative art project led by New Zealand artist Julia Morison. Morison has a longstanding interest in tarot and its connection with the Sephirotic Tree, a recurrent structure in her practice since the late 1970s. In 2023–24, Morison worked closely with Dr. Anna Smith—academic and tarot reader—to develop her own deck, digitally illustrating all 78 cards. Alice Bonifant and Harriette Herlund joined Morison and Smith in bringing the cards to life, creating a first edition of 100 decks in 2024.

This first edition was launched at the 2024 Aotearoa Art Fair, where Four Worlds hosted public tarot readings throughout the fair. The booth was facilitated by Emily Gardener Projects and Jonathan Smart Gallery, with installation design by Knight Associates. Readings were held within a purpose-built structure that displayed a selection of ceramic heads from Morison’s large body of work Head[case] (2015–2021).

In 2025, a second edition of 100 decks has been produced. Building on the success of the New Zealand event, Four Worlds will launch this new edition with a reading event at Sydney Contemporary 2025, engaging audiences with tarot readings for the duration of the fair. Hosted by Emily Gardener Projects and Jonathan Smart Gallery, the installation is again developed in collaboration with Knight Associates. The reading space will be staged within a new body of sculptural work by Morison. 

The cards not only inform and reflect Morison’s practice, but have shaped the way the Four Worlds project has evolved. Throughout its development, the collaborators have used the cards to guide creative decisions. By hosting public readings, Four Worlds extends this process to audiences, offering space for reflection on questions—creative or otherwise—within the heightened context of an art fair. The act is both intimate and disarming, creating an exchange where vulnerability and agency meet, and where the interaction between reader and participant becomes part of the artwork.

The limited second edition will be available at Sydney Contemporary as well as online. The cards are accompanied by a traditional tarot white book written by Dr. Anna Smith, offering in-depth interpretations of Morison’s imagery and providing users with a framework for their own readings [see below].