The City Revisited

I haven't spent much time in inner city Christchurch over the last six months.

I've been trying to ignore our earthquake ravaged city.

I've been trying to ignore the fact that, after three and a half years, my house is still not fixed.

I've been trying to ignore everything to do with the earthquakes - the slow progress, the sad stories, the outrage, the anger, the despair, the very futility of it all.

I've just been trying to get on with my life.

Now my house *is* about to get fixed and I'm elated.

It feels like a new beginning. It feels like I can finally leave the earthquakes behind.

But then I see this wall and it seems like an ugly metaphor for all the people still waiting, all the people whose voices still haven't been heard.

And I pick up my camera again to illustrate that, despite positive stories of new buildings, flourishing street art and quirky temporary projects, inner city Christchurch still has a VERY long way to go before it regains even a glimmer of its former charm.

See for yourself.

The demise of the Christchurch City Council chambers

Tuam Street

The end of an era

When was your last moment of wonder?

When was the last time you felt 'all right'?

Under control, buoyant, excited, inspired?

The Bridge of Remembrance

Undignified

Not how most people remember it

The interior of Starbucks.

The daily newspaper open, unread

A tiny capsule of broken history

Shopfront City Mall

Skinny Jeans

Shattered

The shiny and new

Reflecting the broken and barren

A Havana-esque moment

Oddly endearing

Once a hotel

Now an ugly pool

A languishing corner

Three old beauties in various stages of ruin

The Post-it notes of memory

Fading fast

Ruptured retail
Would you feel 'all right'
If you lived here
With this?