Public Address | Cafe | Capture: Christchurch: Last One Standing

Jackie Clark

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:47:20 +1300

Congrats, Adrienne. Wonderful, wonderful news.

Sara Bee

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:20:45 +1300

Lovely to see that Gudrun. Did you see the Oklahoma Chairs Memorial on Billy Connolly's Route 66 programme the other week?

JacksonP

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:53:18 +1300

Thanks Gudrun

I thought you would be out and about already, so just decided to take the liberty of re-posting it myself. Luckily you beat me to it.

For Capture followers, we hope to have a new post on the memorial services at some future stage, but in the mean…

Gudrun Gisela

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:41:57 +1300

21 of February 2012. The start of the memorial on the site of The Oxford Terrace Baptist Church. This baby carrier is part of 185 chairs , representing the souls lost in the earthquake. Baby Baxter Gowland only five month old one of the first to be buried.

JacksonP

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:39:09 +1300

In breaking news…

Adrienne’s Christchurch: Last One Standing blog post has won the PEAD PR press award, along with Jane Bowron, mentioned above.

Congratulations Adrienne and Jane.

We’re stoked. Just quietly.

Kimberley

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:25:50 +1300

Thanks for these pictures Alex, they are excellent. I often have trouble remembering what was on which street corner. Though I lived in Chch nearly 20 years ago, so have forgotten most of what was where anyway

Kimberley

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:19:13 +1300

Thanks for your pics Adrienne, and those in the comments are wonderful too. I interviewed Jane Bowron about her book for the Dominion Post, and she said people really struggled to put into words what the 'red zone' is like. She called it a hurt howling core. I haven't been…

Hebe

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:59:59 +1300

the School of Radiant LivingI didn't know about this; sounds like another fine Christchurch weirdness. Under the city's navy-blue exterior beats a rainbow-coloured heart eh?

Lucy Stewart

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:58:12 +1300

Is that the remnants of Shag Rock on the right side of the photo, or something else? The loss/change of natural features like that is one of the things I find hardest to grasp; buildings are demolished, from time to time, the landscape remains...except when it doesn't.

Joe Wylie

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:54:48 +1300

And Joe! That’s brilliant, it’s a beautiful family picture. If you want us to add more names to the metadata you can email us at
Thanks Kebabette. I was naturally interested to know where the picture had come from, but all the Library was able to tell me was that…

Kebabette

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:27:29 +1300

Kia ora and thanks library lovers Lilith, Emma (and daughter), and Hilary. And Joe! That's brilliant, it's a beautiful family picture. If you want us to add more names to the metadata you can email us at

Sacha

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:16:36 +1300

already the buildings stand isolated amid the broad bare expanses demolished

smudged flat

Hilary Stace

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:15:11 +1300

Thank you for that photo of what was once the Radiant Hall. Built, I think, by Christchurch benefactor Thomas Edmonds. It was the venue for visiting speakers in the 1930s including those who founded the School of Radiant Living, mentioned earlier in the colour thread, who advocated eating colourful food…

Hebe

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:33:08 +1300

Oh nice.; I haven't seen anything like this take on Clifton and containers before. Original and cool the way the containers almost look like flags or a modern-art coloured line. And the rock strata across the cliff-face are really interesting.

ChrisW

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:12:53 +1300

Christchurch CBD from above?
Saw it from much further above, 20 November from 737 en route Wellington to Dunedin. I've been ambivalent about visiting Chch, cycled it much in the 1970s, don't want to slip through for superficial impressions, haven't yet found good cause for a full immersion. So this…

Alex Efimoff

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:02:16 +1300

Hi Lilith__,
I am using an ultra wide angle lens Sigma 8-16 mm and one prime 50 mm lens with Canon EOS 7D and EOS 20D DSLR cameras. As you can see nothing special in my equipment. :)

Lilith __

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:14:28 +1300

Great pix again, Alex. Care to talk about the equipment you're using? Some wickedly wide angles in some of them!

Lilith __

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:41:48 +1300

Aw. Back atcha, Kebabette!! Your FB feed is great too. :-)

Was delighted to be introduced the other day (via that feed) to the Inky Fool blog.

Alex Efimoff

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:17:09 +1300

Thanks everyone for your comment on my photos. I really appreciate it.

Local Christchurch library :)

Joe Wylie

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:37:20 +1300

I'm the editor of the Christchurch City Libraries website
Is that right? My great-grandparents are still up there as the poster family pic on the NZ Family History page. Before my Mum passed on last year I was able to identify who was who, including my granny at the left…

Emma Hart

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:18:57 +1300

I dunno which one of yous rules more. The libraries website is brilliant. And my daughter will be SO happy. She was just staring mournfully through the fence at the old Central Library on Sunday.

Kebabette

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:37:08 +1300

You rule Lilith_ I'm the editor of the Christchurch City Libraries website – have just been posting that all over our website and Twitter etc and here you are spreading the word to the PA peeps. Love it! Go the PA!

Lilith __

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:43:36 +1300

Ooooo great news: Chch is getting a (temporary) central library! Containing stock rescued from the old building.

Sofie Bribiesca

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:05:16 +1300

Nice… trees?
That Rimu has become my most important tree on the land. The main building will be in sympathy of it. I envisage being able to touch it's branches from the deck, and I have convinced other half of this also, which is kinda important as he will build…

JacksonP

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:37:53 +1300

although not Chch, it is one of our containers.
Nice... trees?

No apologies please. It's all about the continuing dialogue. I would hate you to feel a sense of containment.
;-)

Sofie Bribiesca

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:06:54 +1300

Revival of Christchurch

Great collection Alex. I note that sky in the "Revival" shot still says a lot to me. Almost like it's fighting to smooth the way. Touch of blue but still angry. Containers really are coming into their own in this country. From jails to ship aground to…

Richard Grevers

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:44:31 +1300

Is a photograph of a painting cheating? The Repertory Theatre as it was – a painting presented to me on my departure in 2003.

Brent Jackson

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:54:36 +1300

I love the photo of plaintive "City Centre" sign – it says so much so simply. Thank you Alex.

Russell Brown

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:23:19 +1300

Revival of Christchurch

It was nice to see that.

Alex Efimoff

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:47:30 +1300

Knox Presbyterian Church
corner Bealey ave and Victoria st

Alex Efimoff

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:43:13 +1300

Merivale Church, Papanui Rd

Jo Eggers

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:26:02 +1300

Wow I used to work at CCC and it is kind of strange to see the building looking like that.

Thank you all for posting these photos – it has been 13 years since I left Chch but it still has a spot in my heart – living somewhere for…

Alex Efimoff

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:24:53 +1300

Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Avonside

Alex Efimoff

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:21:46 +1300

Revival of Christchurch

Hebe

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:40:50 +1300

Those lanterns shred my heart; all set for the Chinese New Year festival. I went to the previous festival the night my partner left for Haiti to work on their earthquake aftermath; we had no idea. Today a person who has had a very rough time said to me: "We…

Russell Brown

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:07:34 +1300

Old CCC offices – the endless fascination of windows, some with sad old flapping curtains leaping out the window

I found that building unnerving, for precisely that reason.

Lilith __

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:44:53 +1300

Ophelia road cones

Ah, the perfect description :-) And great pics, everybody.

Isabel Hitchings

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:07:31 +1300

Victoria Square – overgrown and tattered has a sad beauty to it.

Adrienne Rewi

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:30:47 +1300

Thanks Robyn. The croquet green shot at Sumner is one of my favourites too. For me it somehow captures the enormity of this whole earthquake business – the croquet green a quiet, unhurried, peaceful metaphor for the city prior to September 4, 2010, suddenly brutalised by falling buildings, crashing rocks…

Alex Efimoff

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:23:07 +1300

Christchurch CBD from above

Alex Efimoff

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:08:23 +1300

The date on the newspaper says: Tuesday, February 22 2011

Kebabette

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:45:19 +1300

Old CCC offices – the endless fascination of windows, some with sad old flapping curtains leaping out the window (see the Crowne Plaza etc)

Kebabette

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:42:37 +1300

demolition site detritus

Kebabette

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:37:44 +1300

Ophelia road cones are a common sight

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:14:56 +1300

a grave concern...
Awaiting the epitaph righters –
Cemetery, Reserve Tce, Lyttelton...

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:12:59 +1300

orphaned oasis...
The damage to everyday life is what has affected me most strongly.
Houseless backyard, Fitzgerald Ave...

Robyn Gallagher

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:52:34 +1300

Those are some great photos, Adrienne. My favourite – the Sumner Croquet Club. An elegant green rudely covered in giant boulders and rubble, as if it's quietly waiting for someone to come along and tidy things up.

JacksonP

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:56:22 +1300

I have done a whole series of black and white as well as colour photos about Christchurch after the disaster.

Great photos Alex.
+1
If you are willing to keep sharing, please do so. They are excellent.

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:46:04 +1300

Orienteering help for out-of-towners...
Central Christchurch
Cashel Street, above Madras St looking west in fact – that's Bedford Row to the left of the photo (next to the new IRD building) CTV was to the right and the Grand Chancellor is the distant high point (now much more skeletal looking)…

Alex Efimoff

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:14:43 +1300

Central Christchurch...

Lilith __

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:00:50 +1300

The basilica in happier times, pre-quake. Another wild Canterbury sky. :-)

Sofie Bribiesca

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:50:58 +1300

That is excellent. "Catholic has moved".No shit Sherlock. The sky says it all.

Alex Efimoff

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:45:39 +1300

Fabric shop on the corner of Madras and Lichfield st.

Alex Efimoff

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:41:50 +1300

The Christchurch Catholic Cathedral: 8 month after the earthquake.
I have done a whole series of black and white as well as colour photos about Christchurch after the disaster.

Lilith __

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:37:33 +1300

Feb 24th, the firefighters were not at home. Note the empty deckchair. We tried not to think about what they would be doing, in the CBD. Our neighbourhood was so quiet.

Lilith __

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:31:07 +1300

Woolston.

Lilith __

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:30:30 +1300

There were many techniques for shovelling the silt. This was the cutest!

David Hood

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:28:54 +1300

Not one of my quake photos, but I took this one of fog on the Avon on a visit a while ago.

Sacha

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:28:03 +1300

is that Edgeware?

Lilith __

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:20:17 +1300

In the days following, our hole became locally famous, and lots of people came and took pictures of it.

Sacha

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:20:02 +1300

Can't see how they'd be as corporate-friendly and authoritarian as the current lot. But hey, the voters have spoken (or stayed at home). Flat earth beckons.

Lilith __

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:17:19 +1300

My street, Feb 23rd, the morning after. The afternoon of the 22nd the street was full of water, but it had drained away overnight.

Christopher Dempsey

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:12:48 +1300

To be honest, I don't think Labour would necessarily be any better at understanding that a society needs to have remains of the old weaved into the new.

Sacha

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:43:53 +1300

Is there someone or an organisation that is pushing to ensure that the 'old' is not completely swept away – I mean in terms of the small things – doors, shop frontage fittings, old signs, etc.

The demo companies are pulling some of that stuff for resale, aren't they? But…

Cheryl Bernstein

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:21:42 +1300

The damage to everyday life is what has affected me most strongly. Christchurch has always been an uncanny, hauntological kind of place, but the earthquakes have rendered the familiar increasingly strange. Here's an image of a classroom block at Heaton Intermediate School, near where we live. The lateral spread of…

Moata T

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:17:42 +1300

Agreed. I like that Adrienne posts pics on Twitter…things that she sees when she’s out and about.

My contribution is alphabetical. E is for Earthquake. The last standing remnant of the Convent of the Sacred Name on Barbadoes St at dusk. By the next day it was gone.

Christopher Dempsey

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:11:34 +1300

These photos (and others) of Chch is great, but it did make me wonder.

Is there someone or an organisation that is pushing to ensure that the 'old' is not completely swept away – I mean in terms of the small things – doors, shop frontage fittings, old signs, etc.…

Sacha

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:07:43 +1300

Brilliant. Thank you Adrienne.

JacksonP

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:07:18 +1300

Christchurch – evolution, devolution, hope and decay.

Thanks Kebabette. I was poised to write the first comment, but so glad you got in first. Your words express what I hope will be conveyed by both Adrienne's images, and if willing, those submitted by others.

Capture away.

Russell Brown

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:03:25 +1300

I found the small sights the most affecting in the Red Zone; odd juxtapositions like that old shop sign being briefly revealed. And also the above, which those who've seen When A City Falls will recognise.

Kebabette

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:00:18 +1300

Spotting old signage – this was in the popup Re:Start mall. Gone again now, covered by paint.

Kebabette

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:47:29 +1300

I'm stoked to see Adrienne's work here – her words & photography capture something deep about what's happening in Christchurch – evolution, devolution, hope and decay.

Public Address

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:47:29 +1300

Discussion from blog post.