When first asked to write introductory essays and the captions for Our Land in Colour, Brendan GraW ham's history of Aotearoa New Zealand through his colourised photographs, I was not enthusiastic. There were already several excellent books by Keith Sinclair and Dick Scott telling the history of the country and its peoples through old images, and I had doubts about whether we could add anything. But the moment I began looking at Brendan's work I was hooked. I knew many of the photographs already in black and white form, but to see them in colour was a revolution in consciousness. It brought exciting new perspectives and a new experience of the past.
For a start, colourised photographs bring a shock of reality. We are used to looking at the past through a black and white lens. It is as if the New Zealand of the 19th and early 20th centuries was a foreign country, made slightly unreal because colour didn't exist. Then we look at those decades in colour and they come alive in an indescribable way.
You pick up a black and white photo of sailing ships in Hokianga Harbour in 1908 and the ships look quaint and "historical". Then you look at the image in colour. Your eyes pick out in the foreground white smoke floating against the green of pine trees and coloured washing on a clothes line and you realise this is how people actually lived and how they travelled at sea. Or you turn the page and see a two-page spread on the Wellington wharves about the same time and immediately the walking city comes to life. You recognise the scene, it is Queens Wharf, but that's not what gives the sense of lived reality; it is the subtle colours, the blue uniforms of two message boys, the green of the luggage store, the smart white dress and hat of a woman with her parasol and the brown and white of the two horses pulling a cart. Your imagination has so much more to work with.
Denne historien er fra August 5-11 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra August 5-11 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
