Otuataua Stonefields • New Zealand

Description

• image code: LSC0001
• Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve Auckland New Zealand
• exposure time 10 seconds
• GPS location 36°58’50.0″S 174°45’05.7″E

During a lecture tour in New Zealand I had chosen this site as the first place to visit and acclimatise after the long journey from the Netherlands. A big surprise awaited me as the site at that point in time was subject to a heated discussion about land ownership between Maori, local developers and the gouvernement. I landed straight into a protest occupy organised by Maori. My lodgings were straight across the street from this occupy. It was a peaceful gathering, and I was amazed by how welcome I felt even though being a stranger and a tourist. Especially because the organisation was very keen to share information with me. I came to learn and experience the site, and learned a great deal more that I could suspect. I wanted to capture the ancient feeling and mystique of this place. Because of the occupy it was not possible to create an image on the site at that point,  but I could walk around along the water front. The brushes sticking out of the water front were an excellent subject for that and I imagined a view from the site towards the opposite land where visitors from far away would land with their ships.

I left, but the protests continued throughout 2019 and still go on today.
[this post was written in June 2020]

Links
News item about Ihumātao
News item about Ihumātao April 2020
For more information about this topic search for ‘Imuhatao protest’

Extra info

The image will be printed onto Hahnemühle Natural Line Fine Art Paper based on hemp and using the Epson Sure Color Printing technique.