Isolation

Cameron McLaren and Cody Ellingham

Te Wero Island
Viaduct Basin, Waterfront

28 May - 16 June 2021

Artist Talk: 1pm - 2pm Sun 13 June

Auckland Festival of Photography presents Isolation by Cameron McLaren and Cody Ellingham displayed on light boxes on the Waterfront.

During New Zealand's Covid 19 lockdowns Cameron photographed his country at a standstill. Commissioned by Washington Post international photo editor, Olivier Laurent this work showcased New Zealand's approach to the pandemic as being at the absolute forefront.

When international travel became impossible people continued to look to New Zealand as a place of progression and aspiration. This work proves to be an example of the power of a small nation on a global stage.

Born in Canada, McLaren found a passion for documentary photography at a young age. Learning the craft from his father in their darkroom. An ideal that continues in his work to the present.

With a strong interest in human circumstance, McLaren’s work often focuses on sharing stories of people and communities which are little known. Always with a strong theme of bringing the unseen, unique or unusual to the viewer. His work is based around personal connections and unconventional moments.

McLaren developed this essence of the hidden with a spontaneous approach to documenting a moment in its purity without any contravention or encroachment of perceptions or values, either placed by himself or outside shifts in awareness. (Text courtesy of www.cammclaren.com

Home is the subject of Cody Ellingham’s latest photographic series - New Zealand Nocturnes. From farm houses along deserted country roads, decaying colonial villas reclaimed by the land, to concrete flats and the iconic state house, New Zealand Nocturnes explores the story of the places we call home under the mysterious glow of moonlight.