This work was commissioned by the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui for the Gallery's centenary exhibition 'Turn of a Century' shown at Sarjeant on the Quay 7 Sep 2019 - 9 Feb 2020. The photographs were taken prior to the commencement of the redevelopment and earthquake strengthening of the heritage building.

Andrew Ross entered the building before it was completely vacated so what can be seen in his photographs is the detritus of the Gallery's operation - display furniture, crates and elements of the building that would soon be removed, like the spiral staircase that cuaght the eye of Regan Gentry. In his practice Ross's preferred companion is his large format camera which he uses to create his distinctive black and white images. This process requires patience - waiting for the right light and waiting for the right exposure time to pass. Ross is skilled at capturing shadow and light and beautiful architectural details and given that the Sarjeant is renowned for its natural lighting it seemed only appropirate that we asked him to capture one of the more enigmatic and variable elements of the magic of the building.
- Greg Donson, Curator & Public Programmes Manager, exhibition text for 'Turn of a Century' 7 Sep 2019 - 9 Feb 2020.