The Condition
Archway (Cambridge), 2006. C-type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2
Rose Standard (Pukekohe), 2007. C-type print,
76.2 x 60.2cm
C-type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
C-type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Warkworth, New Zealand, 2007. C- type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Otorohanga, New Zealand, 2008. C-type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Otorohanga, New Zealand, 2008, C-type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Waianakarua, New Zealand, 2008. C-type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Thames, New Zealand, 2007. C-type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Oamaru, New Zealand, 2008. C-type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Christchurch, New Zealand, 2008. C-type print (handprint) , 76.2 x 60.2cm
Christchurch, New Zealand, 2008. C-type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Herne Bay, New Zealand, 2007. C- type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Oamaru, New Zealand, 2008. C- type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Huntly, New Zealand, 2008. C- type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Pukekohe, New Zealand, 2006. C- type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Edendale, New Zealand, 2008. C- type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Ashburton, New Zealand, 2008. C- type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Temuka, New Zealand, 2008. C- type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
Invercargill, New Zealand, 2008. C- type print (handprint), 76.2 x 60.2cm
The Condition
Tidy hedges, manicured trees and freshly mown lawns dominate the New Zealand suburban landscape. They have become signifiers of normality, of colonial imposition, of accepted and acceptable ideals.
Hedges were originally put into place to divide land by creating boundaries. A hedge can structurally be seen as a compromise – a piece of architecture imposed upon the land through a human desire for shelter, privacy and demarcation of territory. But materially, much like a manicured tree, a hedge is originally part of the natural world; it defines space as well as allowing nature to enter into it. These features exemplify a desire for order, conformity and control.
An untidy hedge is a prerequisite for something else to happen.
It is a condition.
To push us.
To create order.