Autobiography of a Garden

Helen Mitchell

Photospace Gallery
7 Courtenay Place, Te Aro, Wellington

7 July - 5 August 2023

"In my garden there is a wilderness, alive with its own agenda where the plants and creatures compete and are subject to the tensions of climate and my attempts to colonise this environment. Avocado pips carelessly discarded spawn beautifully curved green leaves with a hint of bronze. Oxalis battles with dandelions, and bottles and jars appear as soon as I put my spade into the ground to cultivate new areas and trench though clay to replace decades-old drains.

"In this show I’m revisiting twentieth century photographic practice by shooting on a Agfa Clack from the 1950s and exploring how these images might relate to my garden and to images created using digital imaging techniques common in contemporary camera systems. I’m invested in place and the space that I inhabit in my garden, the environment is constantly evolving as my occupation progresses. This work is the fourth in a series of works that are loosely connected by the theme of gardening and nature.

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