Research and Excavations (2018)
The project ‘Research and Excavations’ is a photographic enquiry based around the site ‘Moa Point Cave’ which is located in Redcliffs, Christchurch. The site is of importance to the artist Rebecca Collins, as it is in the suburb she grew up. During her lifetime it has undergone many changes, particularly since the Canterbury earthquake in February 2011, which caused parts of the cave to collapse. Considering the idea of an archive as a departure point for the curated works, the artist has gathered materials together that are all linked to a specific site. The artist revisited the site in April 2018, photographing the cave and surrounding area with the decision to shoot in black and white form to preserve the materiality of the images. A particular artefact of interest is an article by geologist Julius Haast released in 1874 that discusses discoveries made after excavating ‘Moa Point Cave’ in 1872. The findings from this excavation revealed some of the history of this site dating back to Maori tribes that previously inhabited the area. The excavation documents include a speech made at a special meeting with text from another era of linguistics, shown through the way it is written. The artist combines materials together and integrates found texts as a way of combining the histories through materials linked by their association with a particular site. The final outcome of this project is a folio that is intended to be expanded on and added too as more materials arise from the artist discoveries. The folio contains many layers of histories that are being brought together through a re-contextualising of the found materials.