Ōtautahi / Christchurch Daily Photo

This is a sign that is on a wall behind the Gap Filler office in Sydenham. I photographed it in a hurry with my cellphone and the quality was not so great – so I have added a few dramatic effects to the image to make up for the poor quality of the original image. I rather like it… quite amazing what you can do if you have the right tools.

The sentiment of the sign is so true for Christchurch – there is so much we can see no more. At least not in real life. The buildings and sights will never be in physically front of us again, they’re consigned to memory now, and that fades oh so quickly. I’ve got my photos of course, but even now it’s getting harder and harder to piece things together – which street was that? What building was that?

I’ve heard of people having ‘street flash backs’ – where suddenly they are thinking about a street in the city somewhere. In an instant, they are taken right back to the street and a moment in time when they were casually walking down the street going about their business. I’ve had these moments too, and they are poignant and a little unsettling as there is the sense of grief and loss. It’s also quite random which street, for me it’s often one that I thought had no significance to me. Many of my memory flash backs are from the times when I was out taking photos for the blog as I really had to look at the city.

Though I’m sad about the loss of our heritage and public areas, I’m excited, optimistic and hopeful for the future. And I’m looking forward to photographing the Christchurch that emerges from this long difficult time of destruction and renewal.