![A narrow, out-of-focus waterfall. The water is very bright white with cyan, cool tones, and the background is very dark, black. It falls as though it were a narrow shaft of light, gently.](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/e0eb7973-dde6-4147-9662-76f95ba50264/1/1/02_waterfall.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Waterfall on the Upper Reaches, 2018
![Portrait of a naked woman from the waist up. Her face obscured by both shadow and a chainmail veil that falls heavy over her head and shoulders till just below the nipples. Her gaze is directed to the left of camera, outwards](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/92f144bc-7ac2-4446-87d4-22ec3ce339bf/1/1/03_veil.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Veil of the Soul, 2018
![The bow of a red plastic dinghy in full sun, set against bright blue / emerald green water. The triangular bow of the boat resembles a mountain peak](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/06bf5aaf-63b4-4a01-8308-a843b0aa352f/1/1/04_groundwatermirror.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Ground Water Mirror, 2017
![A tyre skidmark on grey asphalt](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/85753262-6bb2-4077-9159-351aa7001d2a/1/1/06_burnout.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Burnout, 2017
![The view of a dark mountain peak in subdued light, framed by a window. The view outside appears blueish and cold, in contrast with the warm yellow interior lit by a lightbulb](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/b92b5e86-4383-4d85-8401-b964d15de787/1/1/05_lookingin_03.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Looking out, looking in, 2017
![A hand reaches out and gently penetrates the surface of dark blue, opaque water.](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/bb5f7d4a-5311-4c0a-9eb2-1af8de6153f9/1/1/10_arm.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Left bank, middle reach, high expectations, 2017
![A hand presents a tiny, antique chainmail handbag half-filled with black sand. Sand falls through the chainmail forming a small mound. The subject is silhouetted, lit from behind through a transparent, gridded glass](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/3672e272-80b2-4821-a033-f8b9129689dd/1/1/08_sandclock.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Sandclock, 2018
![Upper body and lower face of a naked man, he wears a chainsaw chain around his neck](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/3ee0188c-cad5-4dc8-b3da-96e8fc913c0a/1/1/09_chainman_web.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Chainman, 2018
![Looking into a dark pine forest from the periphery](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/a5ce6958-2e23-415a-aafb-ff0197fabebe/1/1/07_forst.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Forest, 2018
![A power pole with a street sign reading "Wordsworth Street" surrounded by residential trees and shrubs, and to one side, a commercial-looking wire fence topped with barbed wire](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/838798bc-01f1-40de-bda1-2cf756374866/1/1/08_wordsworth.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
The End of Wordsworth Street, 2018
![The face of a woman, her gaze directed towards the light, outwards. She wears a flax woven headdress that obscures her vision. Tukutuku panels are barely visible in the dark background, showing the poutama stepped pattern](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/43adb2d6-f94d-4db3-9665-dc19990d04c4/1/1/02_tia.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Travel without moving, 2018
![A view of overlapping planes or mountains are framed by a round window. The mountains are obscured by heavy rain or fog](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/3cf7ab97-2245-4cf9-9be0-e0c3cd7428b2/1/1/03_tongariro_yellow.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Hatrick's window (Tongariro), 2018
![Dirty looking water falls over a built structure](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/2a609412-b643-432f-90c0-e115f9b81e33/1/1/01_waterfall.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Waterfall on the Grid (Māngere), 2017
![A pair of hands present a bundle of tangled neck chains in front of a dark background. There are 5 pendants included: a small cross and 4 miniature replicas of distance markers from the original surveyor's chain](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/b7b5c7d5-83ca-4fee-8e6d-0799e95a55f0/1/1/04_chains_desat_cyan.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Power lines, 2018
![A naked woman's neck and décolletage with a nasty red skin irritation in place of a necklace](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/587599a0-160e-4bb7-98dd-a3e4ff8ff429/1/1/05_neck.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Chain reaction, 2018
![Overlapping steam clouds coloured by the setting sun](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/26e10f3a-a04a-4cc7-9a46-b128f952fa7e/1/1/06_cloud.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Lonely as a Cloud, 2018
![Looking up at the side of a large commercial-looking building made of corrugated iron. The signage displays a phone number underneath a stylised interpretation of Mount Taranaki](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,707,875,707,550/0-0-0/76b32dfb-5294-4c11-b4ee-f249293ab47e/1/1/11_steelformers_02.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=e3cc2ce5218477886e8199a1d43ca89a08beb4774fdd77566aaa644a9eba3cdb)
View of the peak, 2018
![A man inside a car looks outwards, his face partly obscured by a fogged car window](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/ec9e16b6-4939-472d-b759-2252ba0616ae/1/1/12_eyecanreach_04_lessred.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
As far as the eye can reach, 2018
![A dark, out-of-focus view of a waterbody and very dark mountainous cliffs and a heavy sky](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/d7b1409e-ee97-4ce4-a0cc-fe81d40eb00b/1/1/07_lorelei.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
Where the river begins to look like itself, 2018
![A wounded woman's thigh with blood running down it. Her body is out of shot, but the leg is revealed from beneath a coloured towel. A body of water is in the background.](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,700,875,700,550/0-0-0/d23952f7-a85a-4351-8af8-c63cea5baad0/1/1/13_leg.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=eb827c8beaea1cedfa3177e8fd0b3857a93dd4db74bef102669958528d9384d3)
I didn't feel it till I saw it, 2017
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,2000,1333,2000,550/0-0-0/a5ddd6ea-20d4-4c16-9b37-97dab584a830/1/1/_43A0796web.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=d5d20f923892b3503c2b16b19533aef7fe3b8a197ebe1ac81bde9ed40b9425b8)
Ground Water Mirror installation view @ Two Rooms, Auckland 2018. Photos © Sam Hartnett
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,2000,1333,2000,550/0-0-0/96036399-d45d-4462-9e62-c39c44a8e3bf/1/1/_43A0797web.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=d5d20f923892b3503c2b16b19533aef7fe3b8a197ebe1ac81bde9ed40b9425b8)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,2000,1333,2000,550/0-0-0/5c7fadce-ebe4-4c6a-b98b-b4035ef1ed1d/1/1/_43A0779web.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=d5d20f923892b3503c2b16b19533aef7fe3b8a197ebe1ac81bde9ed40b9425b8)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,2000,1333,2000,550/0-0-0/8f0a34b6-620f-442b-83a1-9ae19e035022/1/1/_43A0798web.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=d5d20f923892b3503c2b16b19533aef7fe3b8a197ebe1ac81bde9ed40b9425b8)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,2000,1333,2000,550/0-0-0/e49399ac-4828-4777-86fb-7d6644529fc8/1/1/_43A0788web.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=d5d20f923892b3503c2b16b19533aef7fe3b8a197ebe1ac81bde9ed40b9425b8)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,1001,1500,1001,550/0-0-0/9eb17572-4020-4fc5-8a95-70183d4ac693/1/1/DSC_6116.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=ddb735dfe776c6a610d05beb177c229dbae81394889961826f69968fbed961f7)
Ground Water Mirror @ SoFA, Christchurch, 2019. Photos © Lucinda Webber
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,1500,1001,1500,550/0-0-0/c9684cd2-8261-4df2-b725-d82f11336fa5/1/1/DSC_6104.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=f7b9df88d68e5f97fb68d77a20980529ce54ed9508db88e7d32ac05c9d41fb10)
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The End of Wordsworth Street @ Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui, 2018. Photos © Michael McKeagg
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/f86f3721-337e-46c4-bb7b-533d09e4a5f4/0/0/0/0,0,1000,668,1000,550/0-0-0/081237ca-1109-40cd-b88c-5ef8009d4c95/1/1/CONORCLARKE2.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037599285~hmac=5735b836cac1367444ab41ea79057038a1fc00cdf338e696c2e09e849ad3476e)
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Catalogue - The End of Wordsworth Street, 2018
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Catalogue - The End of Wordsworth Street, 2018
Ground Water Mirror
Ground Water Mirror is about a relationship with land and particularly water that has changed since industrialisation. Reflecting on the western notion of human domination over water, and the feeling of alienation from it that followed a dependance on its subjugation, I explore our reasons for romanticising this concept we have of Nature.
The title is a slight mistranslation of Grundwasserspiegel – the german word for water table. Aside from water's obvious mirror-like qualities that resulted in my translation, there is an expectation that follows contemplation of water – for it to provide a solution to the questions or anxieties we project onto it.
However we choose to describe water, we inevitably return to ourselves and our own experiences with water, using descriptions for which water itself has no name. It's cold, it runs, it flows; it seeps, rises and falls.
Berlin's ground water mirror is never far beneath one's feet, I can hear it flow through those pink or blue overhead pipes as it is pumped across the city from construction sites to waterways. They remind us why we long for that other kind of water, for Nature. Why we rely on this fantasy, fetishise it – and if we are privileged enough – travel to find it.
As we gaze into the mirror it holds up for us, we too easily imagine that what we behold is Nature when in fact we see the reflection of our own unexamined longings and desires – William Cronon, The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature, 1995
Conor Clarke, 2018