#otakaro

I spotted this big fish while out walking on my lunch break.  It was just hanging out waiting for someone to give it a bite of their sandwich. 

Ripples. More photos of the Otakaro-Avon river. Went on a long bike ride through the red zone Christchurch, using the river as my guide. The water was pretty similar throughout, otherwise it was like a completely different place to the city and the rest of the suburbs. Damaged roads bordered on residential sections with trees and mowed lawns, but no houses or buildings of any sort - as if they had been edited out. The river was calming - it was nice to be in a deserted place, but it was also kind of unsettling. The river was moody today, partially because it was reflecting the weather (cloudy and grey, raining on and off) but also took on my interpretation of it. Energetic in parts, smooth and relaxed in other parts. 

Otakaro Interviews, part of It’s Only Natural (Living Room) at CoCA. A text work consisting of stories, memories, thoughts and feelings of Christchurch residents about the Otakaro-Avon river. This was a way of expanding my work for this show, making it about more than myself. I didn’t necessarily want to make a political or opinionated statement of my own (my work was more about the motion of the water) but I feel it was important to include others perspectives as there is a lot to talk about when it comes to the river.

Otakaro Avon river textures 25/5/17