Red-zone portraits special reminder Memorial exhibition
Philippa King feels she is a guardian of Christchurch’s red zone.
From her home on the edge of the quake-damaged land in the city’s east, she has watched her neighbourhood get swept away.
Now she is part of an exhibition celebrating the people of her Avonside suburb and what they experienced through the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes and later red zone clearances.
A series of portraits of Avonside people, along with stories of their experiences, are on display in a reserve on the corner of Retreat Rd and Patten St. The show, named after a message left on a red zoned home, is called Thx 4 the Memories.
It was officially opened by Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel yesterday – the eighth anniversary of the February 22 earthquake.
The reserve was once in the middle of a busy suburb, but is now surrounded by green fields.
King said she had a sneak preview of the exhibition on Friday morning.
‘‘I came through here at 7am in my dressing gown and jandals and had a moment. It was so special,’’ she said.
‘‘This is my park. We have lived here for 25 years. I feel like the guardian.
‘‘We have been here just slowly watching our community disappear. I got used to hearing the sound of demolition.’’
The exhibition was created by the Place in Time team at the University of Canterbury’s Ilam School of Fine Arts. Photographers Tim Veling and Bridgit Anderson took most of the photographs between 2011 and 2013, before many homes were red zoned.
King misses the community that was displaced by the red zoning and demolition. She believes two recent burglaries were due to that loss of community.
‘‘We had all these connections. It was the loss of connections and community.’’
But there have also been blessings. One was Roger the cat, who turned up on her doorstep one day and has since become part of the family.
She also loves being surrounded by trees and nature on the edge of the red zone.
‘‘Since all the houses have gone it is a real blessing to be able to sit and look at all the beauty.
‘‘I love it. I wouldn’t live anywhere else.’’