Tawa Street 17/3/2009
Andrew Ross, Artist
This is one of the
photographs
in our collection.
It was made in
Whanganui Region, New Zealand
in 2009.
See full details
Object Detail
About the Work
“I’ve
spent
a
bit
of
time
in
Gonville
and
this
scene
is
familiar
as
I’ve
driven
down
Tawa
street
quite
often.
On
the
left
you
can
see
the
Gonville
pool
that
has
fallen
into
disrepair,
next
to
it
is
the
former
Gonville
town
hall
and
on
the
right
is
the
Moutoa
Masonic
lodge.
This
image
is
a
record
of
a
vibrant
urban
life
that
sadly
no
longer
exists,
although
I
hear
there
are
good
things
planned
for
the
former
pool
building.”
- James Hope for the January 2021 My Choice
"Andrew Ross’s photographs remember the forgotten. In his work he resembles one of those socially marginal figures scouring rubbish dumps, finding a value in the things everyone else has thrown away. Ironically, in the sustainability project such figures may yet become cultural heroes. Ross’s geiger-counter is tuned for crud and he habitually haunts abandoned and neglected habitats, his images registering these often melancholy spaces, still suffused with human presence.
Forgetting may be more a casual process than remembering, but often it may have just as much point and be pursued with equal determination. This can range from the darkly psychological to the plainly material – the current enthusiasm for domesticup-grading and the popularity of garden make-overs are just aspects of this latter. Improvements have their downside, and while the lifestyle magazines gleam with the new the planet groans with the increasing burden of the discarded. The shiny
wrapper conceals some grim contents indeed.
Personally, Ross may be disquieted by this, but his work isn’t merely a protestagainst it. It’s a richer compost of human history and habitation that suggests more than just waste" Peter Ireland in catalogue accompanying the exhibition "Round & About Wanganui: 72 Photographic Studies by Andrew Ross". Published by Sarjeant Art Gallery in 2010. Pg 3.
- James Hope for the January 2021 My Choice
"Andrew Ross’s photographs remember the forgotten. In his work he resembles one of those socially marginal figures scouring rubbish dumps, finding a value in the things everyone else has thrown away. Ironically, in the sustainability project such figures may yet become cultural heroes. Ross’s geiger-counter is tuned for crud and he habitually haunts abandoned and neglected habitats, his images registering these often melancholy spaces, still suffused with human presence.
Forgetting may be more a casual process than remembering, but often it may have just as much point and be pursued with equal determination. This can range from the darkly psychological to the plainly material – the current enthusiasm for domesticup-grading and the popularity of garden make-overs are just aspects of this latter. Improvements have their downside, and while the lifestyle magazines gleam with the new the planet groans with the increasing burden of the discarded. The shiny
wrapper conceals some grim contents indeed.
Personally, Ross may be disquieted by this, but his work isn’t merely a protestagainst it. It’s a richer compost of human history and habitation that suggests more than just waste" Peter Ireland in catalogue accompanying the exhibition "Round & About Wanganui: 72 Photographic Studies by Andrew Ross". Published by Sarjeant Art Gallery in 2010. Pg 3.
Measurements
Image: H190 x W245 mm
Matt: H410 x W445mm
Frame: H450 x W485mm
Matt: H410 x W445mm
Frame: H450 x W485mm
Media
silver gelatin contact prints on gold toned printing out paper
Subject Place
Description
Gold toned black and white photograph of a row of hall buildings on Tawa Street, Gonville, Whanganui. At the far left is just visible the corner of the former Gonville swimming baths with the round windows on the facade.
Credit Line
Collection of the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui. Tylee Residency exchange, 2010.
Collection Type
Permanent collection
Acquisition Date
Dec 2010
Share
Artist:
Nationality:
Accession Number:
2010/5/6