Our Place
Everyone has a sense of ‘place’, where they feel at home. This place can change as time goes by.
In my teenage years, when my love of photography began, I was living in Christchurch. The Square was the centre of town, a real meeting place, where many adventures began. It always was busy, I enjoyed photographing the activity and people. I had no formal training in photography, the equipment was very basic, and few resources were available to learn from.
As 40 years of working life went by, living away from Christchurch, photography has been a constant. Especially for the last 20 years when it was my main job. I found photography as ‘work’ satisfying, but very different to the pure creative exploration of my earlier years.
I returned to live in Christchurch in 2022, mostly retired. I have again started to photograph in the city, but find the changes disorienting. By looking back, I am trying to rediscover what I innately knew and felt as a 15 year old and reconnect with the city.
I suspect many people have similar feelings about our place in Christchurch. Everything is the same but different. Perhaps looking back may help us look forward.
- words from the 'Our Place' group exhibit, October 2023, Photosynthesis, Christchurch
- words from the 'Our Place' group exhibit, October 2023, Photosynthesis, Christchurch
This project is ongoing. I have hundreds of negatives from my earliest photography that have never been printed. I'm working my way through, scanning and remastering files.
