Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
Jake Giles
Photospace Gallery
37 Courtenay Place, Te Aro, Wellington
12 May - 3 June 2023
Opening Friday 12 May, 5pm
Pilgrimage - artist statement:
I was born and raised in Christchurch, and it was during high school that I discovered my love for photography. I excelled in this subject and decided to pursue it further by moving to Wellington to study photography at Massey University. After completing my studies I tried my hand at working in the commercial photography industry but soon realised that it wasn't a good fit for me.
Feeling unfulfilled and in need of a fresh perspective, I decided to take some time off and embarked on a personal journey by walking the South Island Section of Te Araroa, a trail that spans from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Starting from the Queen Charlotte Track, I eventually finished on Stewart Island.
Through this experience, I came to appreciate the power of walking as a means of reconnecting with nature and recognising our place within the environment. We should see ourselves as a part of nature, not an external force upon it. While living in the city can have many benefits, I found that it was important for me to step back and gain a new perspective by immersing myself in the natural world.
“I went in the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life. And see if I could not learn what it has to teach and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived.”
- Henry David Thoreau
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