https://www.ellakhickford.com/fromthemuddybanks daily 0.75 2019-06-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548803937284-A2U3CR5CNV86XW6DIM1F/IMG_1071.JPG From the Muddy Banks From the Muddy Banks is an ongoing project about the Waimakariri River, a waterway of cultural, economic, and geographical significance to Canterbury. It focuses on stretches of the riverbank outside the bounds of designated access points, places of no specific significance, to examine how people utilise, shape and value the river, how it’s appreciated as resource and taonga. My intention for this work is not to direct viewers to problems unique to the Waimakariri, but for it to be analogous with many different sites, forefronting contemporary ideas around the human relationship with nature and waterways. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548803937284-A2U3CR5CNV86XW6DIM1F/IMG_1071.JPG From the Muddy Banks From the Muddy Banks is an ongoing project about the Waimakariri River, a waterway of cultural, economic, and geographical significance to Canterbury. It focuses on stretches of the riverbank outside the bounds of designated access points, places of no specific significance, to examine how people utilise, shape and value the river, how it’s appreciated as resource and taonga. My intention for this work is not to direct viewers to problems unique to the Waimakariri, but for it to be analogous with many different sites, forefronting contemporary ideas around the human relationship with nature and waterways. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804276001-X97ICY29M5MMVHW589UN/IMG_2808.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804018750-SZ7L1TEWDTX9DYCTZHC5/IMG_1908.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804180335-DZU7XG8I47V9ABCSYMXM/IMG_2563.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804062927-HAHO6PZ71TGB43AEUZ06/IMG_1981.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804200813-7J1MILT5R32P9G3FHGJ3/IMG_2580.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804138545-SGNNLQG0A3URF7U5C1L6/IMG_2185.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804256897-W3UDT774LA6E3BG2O6I8/IMG_2742.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804123926-7EEESAF309QCBXATMH3E/IMG_2460.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804067429-PK6QCBWMTKKAFBRB9H5O/IMG_2043.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804367615-6Z2XGP9U7JB9PG81NI3W/IMG_3091.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804015096-1GY20IEQW0HHQ0IKIEGZ/IMG_1534.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804337755-77ZR7COMXHS38IC8L387/IMG_2993.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804419210-27E2XGSG0DDM0YCP0X9R/IMG_9470.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804311733-VCVIWJUFEZXNP7U23RAZ/IMG_2961.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548804387072-QZV04LGILTI7HNJNNL4M/IMG_9433.JPG From the Muddy Banks https://www.ellakhickford.com/towatchthewaterexhibition daily 0.75 2019-11-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548809010337-FI7AGLKK5GP2D6YLZ6F7/DSCF7239.JPG To Watch the Water: Bodies of Water Captured and Constructed To Watch the Water was a collaborative exhibition by Megan Hopkins and myself held at The Corner Store in Christchurch between the 5th and 15th of September, 2018. The following text is taken from the exhibition catalogue, which was written by Harriet Litten and Bojana Rimbovska. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548809010337-FI7AGLKK5GP2D6YLZ6F7/DSCF7239.JPG To Watch the Water: Bodies of Water Captured and Constructed To Watch the Water was a collaborative exhibition by Megan Hopkins and myself held at The Corner Store in Christchurch between the 5th and 15th of September, 2018. The following text is taken from the exhibition catalogue, which was written by Harriet Litten and Bojana Rimbovska. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548808931590-NXRBTC833D3GWKR0307H/DSCF7225.JPG To Watch the Water: Bodies of Water Captured and Constructed Throughout history humans have held a desire to explore, interpret and record our environments. From its early iterations, photography has been considered a naturalistic and accurate method of representation; the perfect medium to satiate our humanistic desire to document the landscape. Exalted as a method able to provide truth of representation, photography has grown as a ‘documentary’ style of artistic representation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548808998117-GE2EZGQ9FR2UV5MOZ78W/DSCF7242.JPG To Watch the Water: Bodies of Water Captured and Constructed Rather than evidence of the world, photographs such as those presented here, are the sum of the photographer’s interpretation; seeing through the artists eyes in order to share information, ideas and values. Photography is a complex conversation between artist and viewer, not just an image, but a dialogue. Both Megan and Ella’s works in this exhibition embrace the semiological notion that images can be read as texts in and of themselves, enhanced by the presence of written word. Photographs are complex pieces of text, these images of place hold the ability to create, articulate and sustain their own meaning; how do we use, live with and embrace our natural resources? What meaning do these bodies of water have in our lives? How can we learn to live in a symbiotic relationship with water? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548809023636-69XUDQKMRLMGF1H5XM7N/DSCF7245.JPG To Watch the Water: Bodies of Water Captured and Constructed Connected by these questions, the photographs explore the artists’ individual associations with place. Oscillating between a highly personal and a more general narrative around the landscape, these images foreground the idea that these bodies of water, no matter how remote or expansive, have stories attached to them. In Megan’s images, perspectives on the landscape have largely been framed by her personal connection to Lake Alexandrina. Annual family gatherings around the lake build an intimate attachment to it as it transforms from a sort of backdrop for family routines to something which is more deeply rooted in the family’s history, becoming more imbued with memories with each visit. It articulates the strong associations with nature, and in particular with water, in New Zealand culture. The sweeping panoramic views of Lake Alexandrina against the sky and mountains are punctuated by signs of human occupation – a reminder that when we think about nature we ought to see ourselves as active agents in its construction. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548808931595-FW1UIR889AJDZRZMR7OS/DSCF7232.JPG To Watch the Water: Bodies of Water Captured and Constructed Ella’s images present perhaps a more distanced but nonetheless reflective view on the Waimakariri river. Her experience of the Waimakariri is framed by her interactions with the wider environment – namely the cold air, constant rain and mud that accompany her as she trails the riverbank. The feeling of isolation is contrasted with the companionship evoked by the foot trails made by others that conjures up memories of bush-walking with her dad. The memories that these environmental cues trigger make it impossible to disentangle ourselves from nature or see ourselves as somehow set apart from it. In this way, the idea that we always find our way to the water appears to hold true. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548808965959-6ONJFH7VSEO5DRPXJOF9/DSCF7233.JPG To Watch the Water: Bodies of Water Captured and Constructed The photographs on show allow us to situate ourselves in relation to these watery landscapes and evoke memories from our own lives. In our mind, the landscape might appear so general as to be able to be substituted for another one; the sight of water, trees and sky being enough to transport us to a place which holds our own memories. Here, the general and the specific are again blurred as these landscapes begin take on new forms in our minds. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548808967210-99EHG1IDMW04ACJB8V1R/DSCF7236.JPG To Watch the Water: Bodies of Water Captured and Constructed More of Megan Hopkins’ photography can be found on Instagram @meganhopkinsphotography and the exhibition was also featured on the Place in Time website. https://www.ellakhickford.com/hope-street daily 0.75 2019-11-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548981251194-DQQQO3EBRU1J8Q36CHS4/IMG_4273.JPG Hope Street Hope Street is a series of postcards that were made as part of my third year at Ilam School of Fine Arts. At this time I felt a disconnection between myself and the place in the world I was inhabiting, Hope Street explores this disconnection through familial relationships and the attachment of memory to place. My father was born and raised in Christchurch, leaving after graduating from Lincoln University to work for the Department of Conservation in South Westland. Early on in this project I believed that through exploring places that were significant to him I could potentially find a deeper connection with Chistchurch; find a sense of belonging through familial connection. It quickly became evident, however, that these places were not mine and I could not orchestrate a personal connection that was not there. The work soon took me beyond the city limits and back to the West Coast, where I had grown up. Through conversations with my parents and extended family, I began to learn things I couldn’t Google. Places I had only given a cursory glance as a child had histories attached that previously I could have only guessed at. Christchurch may never feel like my home, but gaining a deeper insight into my family history helped me find a place to stand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548981251194-DQQQO3EBRU1J8Q36CHS4/IMG_4273.JPG Hope Street Hope Street is a series of postcards that were made as part of my third year at Ilam School of Fine Arts. At this time I felt a disconnection between myself and the place in the world I was inhabiting, Hope Street explores this disconnection through familial relationships and the attachment of memory to place. My father was born and raised in Christchurch, leaving after graduating from Lincoln University to work for the Department of Conservation in South Westland. Early on in this project I believed that through exploring places that were significant to him I could potentially find a deeper connection with Chistchurch; find a sense of belonging through familial connection. It quickly became evident, however, that these places were not mine and I could not orchestrate a personal connection that was not there. The work soon took me beyond the city limits and back to the West Coast, where I had grown up. Through conversations with my parents and extended family, I began to learn things I couldn’t Google. Places I had only given a cursory glance as a child had histories attached that previously I could have only guessed at. Christchurch may never feel like my home, but gaining a deeper insight into my family history helped me find a place to stand. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1550109510945-460G0B4WOD4891DS4BJN/Shite4.jpg Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1550445589192-QLCZ5M1RX6JVFNR6WL8Q/Slide4.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548981215658-WEIO5LZANRUJ8R32MZPR/IMG_4223.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1550445720833-ZSQNUDRMNXD0COJ61E5Y/Slide18.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548981176202-D99D7GKPP65AQ3FRVQPZ/IMG_3541.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1550445907035-EBJP7E8TZY9GW7CTBNO9/Slide6.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548981273013-NOLPE4VIRV3WT2OT3X71/IMG_4718.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1550446008235-0DA3MWBA4R6BBUHHE38L/Slide40.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548981172588-72G1ABHWZDHEVO53YTVU/IMG_3636.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1550446190271-MEUP4K7QPL8GULRFOKA4/Slide8.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548981282896-69Y6U6CUQ1B4MH5MHOI0/IMG_4735.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1550446244451-EGMVG1TMSXWORNYUSVWA/Slide10.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548981204576-V6CDKC7NZC3DT4FJZ1OU/IMG_3765.JPG Hope Street https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1550446281730-G2M9XWPHD2JDSCVYU3S5/Slide16.JPG Hope Street https://www.ellakhickford.com/fieldnotesandother daily 0.75 2019-12-19 https://www.ellakhickford.com/fieldnotesandother/2019/12/19/exegesis-of-the-ground-you-walk-on monthly 0.5 2024-11-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577526077776-OPRP4894HLTYD0BVFLBL/4.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577526077824-WLZDRVMBPXRR5RR4VNAL/5.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577526078630-BPI4HU9H6386ETOD9QO0/6.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577526825192-L16GMSUWECTHOGFP2OEU/10.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577525500525-OXXHL2YWWN45X9KMXY25/3.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577526489699-PXLNCEC4T05VF12EAU2G/7.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577526882352-CZDTIA9MDBHBP0TP6YCD/11.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577526881915-W9LEIEDCWG7X6E5PLAYN/12.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1578261314388-LNQ6QWO1CMCZPFFEYOX2/15.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1578261314350-2C9T55VAQH0W0Y4H0DNA/16.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577527469995-H82D3SCYJ063D1IGXHF0/19.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577527524645-XOVSUI0YMRBSDIAF1ETU/20.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577527328997-XLQC16JXUUEABK2L0P8P/17.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577525283537-YJE0AC3JMTB6W8OWFORL/1.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577525283170-RGCTAF5BVXLSA0S7N21L/2.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577526613348-7I12JOLS5I2LYTX630E4/8.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577526722008-VP0QMVN9CN6UMZLYPGIJ/9.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577527405302-HHQ9YYQUFX9AZAK6H4XV/18.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577527185197-IAMJ89W3B2RZWYEVXN8I/13.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1577527189665-XU6LTERGR53SGRSK195K/14.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Exegesis of The Ground You Walk On https://www.ellakhickford.com/fieldnotesandother/2019/3/5/where-are-we monthly 0.5 2024-11-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1551761289689-54EDWKP1583LAJLF9DFQ/IMG20190305174029.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Where Are We? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1551750092412-094AZOZ5XZ1KV6V0PPOH/NZTOPOMAPS.COM+_+New+Zealand+Topographic+Map+online.jpg Field Notes and Other Writings - Where Are We? A cross section of New Zealand’s Te Waipounamu, the West Coast Road is marked in orange and the Waimakariri River is marked in blue. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1551759161726-FS56K4L44PVRDPQGVPJN/IMG_1071.JPG Field Notes and Other Writings - Where Are We? https://www.ellakhickford.com/fieldnotesandother/tag/waimakariri+river monthly 0.5 https://www.ellakhickford.com/fieldnotesandother/tag/post+one monthly 0.5 https://www.ellakhickford.com/fieldnotesandother/tag/from+the+muddy+banks monthly 0.5 https://www.ellakhickford.com/still-water-exhibition daily 0.75 2019-12-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1573092699936-L8YXEBAUFKHAW6MY5WIR/image-asset.jpeg Still Water https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1573092792350-I22BHJBT8CIHRJGC7I39/Still+Water+Website.jpg Still Water Still Water was Ella’s first solo exhibition, held in the Art Hole Gallery from the 4th to the 9th of November, 2019. Still water is the part of a stream where there is no current visible, a place of slow transition before the flow resumes. A state that seems analogous to the transitional periods in life we face before choosing the path we will take into the future. The exhibition was a continuation of a previous photographic project entitled From the Muddy Banks, which sought to create a biography of the Waimakariri River, mapping the ways we utilise, shape, and value this significant waterway as both resource and taonga. As the project progressed, Ella traced the physical and psychological pathways that led her to the river, analysing her place within this landscape and what draws us into nature. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1573092738403-6ODZ2FKAT9JLKVKWADDG/Still+Water+Website2.jpg Still Water https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1573092762027-4DB00D0JI6V170LFN8MD/Still+Water+Website3.jpg Still Water https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1573092073247-E9EU9Y2Z4RJ0A72RYUM0/Still+Water+Website4.jpg Still Water https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1573092819392-013Z50ILD20ROWSMQX5J/Still+Water+Website5.jpg Still Water https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1573092854164-A0WE7K9ZGN9FVUE0TIYS/Still+Water+Website6.jpg Still Water https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1575576036309-7XDNVQL1T4PBZHZVGZI6/AH+2019-1.jpg Still Water https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1575576109899-REW2CY47ID0U3G9I1R40/AH+2019-2.jpg Still Water https://www.ellakhickford.com/the-ground-you-walk-on daily 0.75 2020-11-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1605346320588-VH0OFG9NK9UQJJ6P22L8/1.jpg The Ground You Walk On The Ground You Walk On is a continuation of a previous photographic project entitled From the Muddy Banks, which sought to create a biography of the Waimakariri River, mapping the ways we utilise, shape, and value this significant waterway as both resource and taonga. In this new iteration of the work, a critical look is taken at the impact of colonisation on the river and surrounds, as well as the role of photography in the narratives created around our natural environment. The artist traces the physical and psychological pathways that led her to the river, analysing her place within this landscape and what draws us into nature. An exegesis on this work can be found in the Field Notes and Other Writings section of this site. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1605346320588-VH0OFG9NK9UQJJ6P22L8/1.jpg The Ground You Walk On The Ground You Walk On is a continuation of a previous photographic project entitled From the Muddy Banks, which sought to create a biography of the Waimakariri River, mapping the ways we utilise, shape, and value this significant waterway as both resource and taonga. In this new iteration of the work, a critical look is taken at the impact of colonisation on the river and surrounds, as well as the role of photography in the narratives created around our natural environment. The artist traces the physical and psychological pathways that led her to the river, analysing her place within this landscape and what draws us into nature. An exegesis on this work can be found in the Field Notes and Other Writings section of this site. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1605346375150-XLN5ZKGBKPQU943M3129/2.jpg The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1605346536374-Y3MIVEUYXKXZXLJWXSQL/3.jpg The Ground You Walk On https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1605346567705-HUU4DF1OFHBL0GJ2R7CP/4.jpg The Ground You Walk On https://www.ellakhickford.com/stranded-exhibition daily 0.75 2022-01-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1642252600916-Q7T4M3BQILFS7CJ19W1Y/image.jpg Stranded Stranded was exhibited at Absolution Tattoo and Art Gallery, between the 5th of November and 1st of December, 2020. The images address the human need to impart our presence on the landscape, indulging our desire to be seen by and to engage with others and to establish identity within spaces that are inherently not our own. The exhibition led to an interview with Sally Blundell for Photoforum which can be read here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1642252600916-Q7T4M3BQILFS7CJ19W1Y/image.jpg Stranded Stranded was exhibited at Absolution Tattoo and Art Gallery, between the 5th of November and 1st of December, 2020. The images address the human need to impart our presence on the landscape, indulging our desire to be seen by and to engage with others and to establish identity within spaces that are inherently not our own. The exhibition led to an interview with Sally Blundell for Photoforum which can be read here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1642252722700-6PPQRKTO4MSWQOO29DFF/Ella%2BHickford%2B-%2BStranded%2B-%2BPurau%2BBay%252C%2B2020.jpg Stranded https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1610769140802-H3NN2TVZ71MKGUZMVYMP/Ella+Hickford+-+Stranded+-+New+Brighton%2C+2020.jpg Stranded - New Brighton, 2020 In contemporary life, especially in Christchurch, graffiti has become synonymous with large, spray-painted murals and tags that decorate the urban environment. These are either commissioned by open-minded property owners or done illegally under the cover of darkness. The history of graffiti, however, extends much farther back than this modern expression. The term graffiti itself is derived from the Italian word ‘graffio,’ which means ‘to scratch’ and, for at least the last 40,000 years, humans have drawn, painted, and carved signifiers of their presence in the world onto any appropriate canvas. Like small children armed with crayons and enticed by blank walls, the desire to leave a mark on the world around us seems to be an intrinsic part of the human experience. The marks we leave on our environment range from the mundane, “I was here,” to the artistic, and at times, offensive. In a similar fashion to social media, the relative anonymity (and illegality) of graffiti can lead creators to express thoughts and sentiments that challenge societal norms or attempt to lend weight to objectionable behaviour. Predominantly, however, graffiti is a way to connect with strangers and friends, to say “I am here, and this is what is important to me,” and to allow those messages to resonate for a longer time than if they were simply spoken aloud. By imparting our presence on the landscape, we indulge our desire to be seen by and to engage with others and to establish identity within spaces that are inherently not our own. An interview about the exhibition conducted by Sally Blundell for Photoforum can be found here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1642252764936-EF004VMRNSPXVELBMMZL/Ella%2BHickford%2B-%2BStranded%2B-%2BRapaki%2BBay%2B2020.jpg Stranded https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1610848212404-KVLFJ3MH0QOBFKJ946OD/Ella+Hickford-5.jpg Stranded https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1610848040628-Z670YCR7ZM68X5FMBC1B/image-asset.jpeg Stranded https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1610848122474-H6ZSCABKKXMP729EJCQN/image-asset.jpeg Stranded https://www.ellakhickford.com/home daily 1.0 2020-11-14 https://www.ellakhickford.com/about daily 0.75 2025-07-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c4e44111aef1d5558459e6b/1548802245871-OY6TC2NPGHZOPLP1JGW7/imagejpeg_0.jpg About Photo taken by Rory Sweeney @sweeney_gram https://www.ellakhickford.com/contact daily 0.75 2019-12-28