Mirror city : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
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Date
2020
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Massey University
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Abstract
Through an autobiographical approach, Mirror City sets out to imaginatively investigate the twin notions of home and the contemporary experience of young people in my home town of Wellington. Embracing photography’s unique role as both document and also a vehicle of imagination, this series of black and white photographs of young people and their environment has been mapped into new constellations using the forms of the photobook and exhibition installation together. While rooted in the lineage of documentary photography, Mirror City questions traditional understandings of documentary photography’s truth claim, and instead attempts to situate the work into more literary ends. Drawing on notions of home, the New Zealand gothic, concepts of hauntology and contemporary documentary practice, Mirror City seeks to synthesize these ideas into a layered and refined body of work that speaks to shifting understandings of home or place, and the uncertainty of being a young person growing up in Aotearoa now.