Exploring the key elements that make up the socio-political climate of the Westport area – coal and gold mining, cement production, natural environment and climate change, this photographic series raises a number of fundamental questions about the future of this place.
As Hannah Watkinson notes in regard to this body of work:
"I began photographing the coastline of the Buller region with the knowledge that at some point, in the near future, the topography would change; rising sea levels, coastal erosion, the winding Coast Road slipping towards the deep blue. In 2015 I was unaware that, like most of the timeframes in Buller, the near future would come a lot sooner than I expected and would unfold before my eyes.
When Solid Energy went into debt crisis talks in February of 2013, Prime Minister John Key said that it was “very unlikely Solid Energy would be sold in the near future.” The country’s largest coal mining company went into voluntary administration in August 2015. In March 2018, Solid Energy was put into liquidation.
I watch the houses in Granity get evacuated in high tides. I wander around Carters Beach on tennis courts that are now part of the beachfront. I have learnt that ‘the near future’ is a concept that occupies the minds of all who live on the West Coast.”
A recent Masters graduate of Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, this exhibition represents a tightly curated selection of photographs from this longitudinal study by Watkinson. To coincide with this exhibition the artist will be releasing a more comprehensive version of The Near Future as a book in the coming months.
Hannah Watkinson is based in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Her photographic practice considers the genres of fine art and documentary, attempting to communicate the psychological landscape and social-political environment through images. Watkinson’s photographs have been acquired by the University of Canterbury's art collection through a SELECT award, and have been exhibited in Christchurch and Wellington. Completing her Master’s degree in 2021, a book titled The Near Future is to be published, a study of the Buller region drawing on a decade of research and photographic archive.
The Near Future is presented in partnership with the University of Canterbury Ilam School of Fine Arts and CoCA Centre of Contemporary Art Toi Moroki.
Opening Hours
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- Saturday, 10am - 3pm
- Closed Sunday, Monday
Address
- 66 Gloucester Street
- Ōtautahi Christchurch
Exploring the key elements that make up the socio-political climate of the Westport area – coal and gold mining, cement production, natural environment and climate change, this photographic series raises a number of fundamental questions about the future of this place.
As Hannah Watkinson notes in regard to this body of work:
"I began photographing the coastline of the Buller region with the knowledge that at some point, in the near future, the topography would change; rising sea levels, coastal erosion, the winding Coast Road slipping towards the deep blue. In 2015 I was unaware that, like most of the timeframes in Buller, the near future would come a lot sooner than I expected and would unfold before my eyes.
When Solid Energy went into debt crisis talks in February of 2013, Prime Minister John Key said that it was “very unlikely Solid Energy would be sold in the near future.” The country’s largest coal mining company went into voluntary administration in August 2015. In March 2018, Solid Energy was put into liquidation.
I watch the houses in Granity get evacuated in high tides. I wander around Carters Beach on tennis courts that are now part of the beachfront. I have learnt that ‘the near future’ is a concept that occupies the minds of all who live on the West Coast.”
A recent Masters graduate of Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, this exhibition represents a tightly curated selection of photographs from this longitudinal study by Watkinson. To coincide with this exhibition the artist will be releasing a more comprehensive version of The Near Future as a book in the coming months.
Hannah Watkinson is based in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Her photographic practice considers the genres of fine art and documentary, attempting to communicate the psychological landscape and social-political environment through images. Watkinson’s photographs have been acquired by the University of Canterbury's art collection through a SELECT award, and have been exhibited in Christchurch and Wellington. Completing her Master’s degree in 2021, a book titled The Near Future is to be published, a study of the Buller region drawing on a decade of research and photographic archive.
The Near Future is presented in partnership with the University of Canterbury Ilam School of Fine Arts and CoCA Centre of Contemporary Art Toi Moroki.
