Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch earthquake. Traffic congestion Colombo Street".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch earthquake. Traffic congestion Colombo Street".
A graphic showing a crack running down a residential street.
This thesis considers the presence and potential readings of graffiti and street art as part of the wider creative public landscape of Christchurch in the wake of the series of earthquakes that significantly disrupted the city physically and socially. While documenting a specific and unprecedented period of time in the city’s history, the prominence of graffiti and street art throughout the constantly changing landscape has also highlighted their popularity as increasingly entrenched additions to urban and suburban settings across the globe. In post-quake Christchurch, graffiti and street art have often displayed established tactics, techniques and styles while exploring and exposing the unique issues confronting this disrupted environment, illustrating both a transposable nature and the entwined relationship with the surrounding landscape evident in the conception of these art forms. The post-quake city has afforded graffiti and street art the opportunity to engage with a range of concepts: from the re-activation and re-population of the empty and abandoned spaces of the city, to commentaries on specific social and political issues, both angry and humorous, and notably the reconsideration of entrenched and evolving traditions, including the distinction between guerrilla and sanctioned work. The examples of graffiti and street art within this work range from the more immediate post-quake appearance of art in a group of affected suburbs, including the increasingly empty residential red-zone, to the use of the undefined spaces sweeping the central city, and even inside the Canterbury Museum, which housed the significant street art exhibition Rise in 2013-2014. These settings expose a number of themes, both distinctive and shared, that relate to both the post-disaster landscape and the concerns of graffiti and street art as art movements unavoidably entangled with public space.
A PDF copy of pages 292-293 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Car Park Frontage'. Photos with permission from Greening the Rubble
A PDF copy of pages 304-305 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Fitzgerald Ave Community Garden'. Photos with permission from Greening the Rubble
A photograph of street art attached to a fence in the former site of a building on the corner of Bowhill Road and Marine Parade. The artwork has been created on a sheet of metal and depicts ChristChurch Cathedral.
An aerial photograph of the Christchurch central city. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "High Street runs across this photograph in the top third from the old Majestic Theatre at the intersection of Manchester and Lichfield Streets to the intersection of Madras and St Asaph Street which is just beyond the edge of the photo".
If you walk along the Avon River by Cashel Street you might catch a glimpse of the small gondolas taking their fares for a leisurely punt through the city and botanical gardens. Today this attraction is aimed largely at tourists, … Continue reading →
Down on the corner of a Lyttelton street, there was a butcher, a courier and a large family to meet… Or at least, one could have met them about 150 odd years ago when three early settler families in Lyttelton … Continue reading →
Today for your viewing pleasure, we present a selection of interesting, unusual and aesthetically pleasing ceramics from Christchurch sites. Enjoy! Jessie Garland References Adamson, J. & Bader, H-D. 2008. Archaeological Excavation Report on the Street Homestead, Penrod Drive, Bell Block, ...
Christchurch’s newest and grandest hotel in the first decade of the 1900s was the Clarendon Hotel situated on the corner of Oxford Terrace and Worcester Street. It replaced the former two-sto…
Birch Street flooded from burst water main
A photograph looking south down Colombo Street from the intersection of Gloucester Street. In the distance a crane is hanging over Cathedral Square. Below the crane is a pile of rubble from the partially-demolished tower of ChristChurch Cathedral. To the right is a smaller crane and a steel structure which will be used to brace the front of the Cathedral.
Bricks and salvaged building materials stacked on wooden pallets outside the Arts Centre on Hereford Street.
Bricks and salvaged building materials stacked on wooden pallets outside the Arts Centre on Hereford Street.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "210 Tuam Street".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The east wall of the Christchurch Art Gallery, Worcester Street".
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0911 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0897 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0905 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0898 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0824 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0930 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0925 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0812 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0919 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0908 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0917 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0900 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.