Names Etched Time Wandering finding curious and creative views as of Ōtepoti I amble down each charter’d street.
This is the old Railway Station at Sutton in Central Otago. I went on a search to find out more about it’s history but sadly I came up rather empty handed. All I can tell you from my google search is that if you go inside you can read names and initials of soldiers who served in the First World War, carved as they left for the front. Also, the station it’s self is only 5 kilometres from Middlemarch, 10 from the Sutton Salt Lake and only a few minutes away from the Orchard Sun Club, a Naturist Resort.
Intersections have a lovely metaphor about them. They can say so much about the human qualities of life and choice, particularly if they remain empty and devoid of human activity. In this image, the two elements that I really think pulls the scene together are the mist & rain, along with the tyre tracks. The entire story of the scene comes together with the mist, the rain, the tyre tracks which are tied into the lovely metaphor that the intersection brings. For me, this is another long stare about life.
This is another visit to the central themes and ideas of emptiness, silence, space and how human activity can be dwarfed by nature. Once again it’s an acknowledgement that even now, there are places where all the white noise of the world can be switched off for a while. Following on from the image I shared last Thursday, everything in the image has been included and excluded deliberately to achieve the feeling I wanted it to invoke when I look at it. It’s another long stare rather than a quick scroll on the screen.
At the moment I’m developing a description and colour palette of Dunedin in winter through single words or short poetic lines. I’d like you to contribute. Using one or two words, describe Dunedin and Otago in winter by commenting below. If you’ve not from Dunedin fear not, poetic winter lines like the one above will help as well.
This is more of a romantic notion than an accurate representation of a scene. To me, it’s a personal story rather than a work containing dramatic light or a moment of fascination. Everything in the image has been included and excluded deliberately to achieve the feeling I wanted it to invoke when I look at it. For me, this image is a long stare rather than a quick scroll on the screen. I must have looked at it for a good hour, making sure I completely understood it before finishing it.
This is another image of a theme and idea I’ve been developing and exploring recently. It expands off last week’s images that were called Peninsula Bus Stop with Dry Grass, Scott Hall and Shearing Shed and Load Ramp. All these images are about the relationship between human’s temporary existence within nature. I’ve been looking for signs of human existence that show a temporary nature, emptiness, silence and devoid of human noise. It’s amazing how quiet the world can be when you turn off all the white noise for a while.
This is an imageI took late last year. Its theme is a common one for me in recent times with this kind of work; traces of human life in silence and emptiness. I visit locations on the Otago Peninsula often and I’m always looking how objects connect with each other and the meaning they infer. Here a shearing shed and loading ramp are covered and surrounded in mist while the damp grass extends off the page. There’s a relationship here between man’s temporary residence against nature. “Shearing Shed and Loading Ramp” (2020)
This is another scene I found on Otago Peninsula. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I wasn’t out looking for something fascinating or interesting, instead I was viewing through the central idea and theme of traces of human life, silence and emptiness. I wandered around this hall for a while before I finally came across the composition I wanted. Sometimes I find I need to look at objects in multiple ways before seeing the arrangement I want. With this hall, I liked the hints of emptiness and silence that seemed to be present, it has traces of human life but also a tiny sense of drama. It’s very much about that human quality of connectedness and harmony in life. Title: Scott Hall by John Caswell (2021)
I came across this scene while I was exploring Otago Peninsula. I wasn’t out looking for something fascinating or interesting because the problem with that is so many things appear fascinating that it becomes impossible to capture everything the eye sees. Instead, my curiosity was based around a central idea and theme. Others might call it a vision. What I was looking for was traces of human life, silence and emptiness. Personally I loved the connection between the bus stop sign and the seat, the street sign and the no exit or turning sign. The relationship between these elements and the rest of the scene to me seem to suggest a way of life that is forgotten about in the city. Title: Peninsula Bus Stop with Dry Grass by John Caswell (2021)
… from a Small City. My daily musings from Ōtepoti to get you inspired. Read the blog, view the photos, embrace the creativity.
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Station Platform at Sutton
