Quarantine

The former Fever/Chest Hospital, Wellington, October 2011: The Fever Hospital was built by the Wellington Hospital Board in 1919 for the treatment of infectious diseases. In the 1940’s tuberculosis broke out so the hospital primarily focused it’s treatment on TB patients. I found out in discussions with my father,that my great Aunt Patricia spent some […]

Skopje

Skopje, Macedonia, 2002: Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC. Under the Roman’s it was known as Scupi, the Ottoman Turks called it Üsküp during their five hundred year occupation…At the conclusion of the Second World War, Skopje became the capital of the Socialist Federal Republic of Macedonia. The city developed rapidly but […]

Bad Education

Petone, Wellington NZ, Sept 2011: The former Petone College has been abandoned since 1998. It’s an eyesore that has to be seen, to be believed… A full scale high-school- graffitied and decaying, with no hope of redemption… Canon 30D/18-55is

Atem

Brussels, Belgium, 2004: The inner sanctum of the “Atomium”- see earlier post. It still had that futuristic/utopian look- albeit the worse for wear in 2004. Later I discovered it had been closed and renovated in 2005, and now looks all flash. Canon EOS A2E/28-105

Bogside

Derry, Northern Ireland, 1999: The neighbourhood of “The Bogside” just outside the old city walls of Derry, has been the focus for many events of “The Troubles”. ‘The Battle of the Bogside” and “Bloody Sunday” in particular… Contrary to the norm in Ireland, I didn’t exactly recieve the warmest of welcomes- particularly while documenting the […]

Interzone

Tangier, Morocco, 1998: After running the gauntlet of taxi-drivers, touts and scam artists at the port- I eventually found the hotel where William S. Burroughs wrote “Naked Lunch”. Tangiers wasn’t exactly a tourist destination at the time, it was still living up to it’s time honored debauched reputation. No issue getting a room at the […]

Border Country

Poipet, Cambodia, 2001: Crossing from Thailand into Cambodia was via an invisible line where the towns of Aranyaprathet (Thai) and Poipet (Cambodian) straddled the border. There was a visa scam at Cambodian passport control regarding whether you had particular vaccinations (yellow fever)- like it mattered… I managed to get through without paying a bribe by […]

Smithfield

Dublin, Ireland, 2004: Smithfield horse market is held on the first sunday of every month. At approximately 400 years old, it is one of the longest (and most controversial) horse fairs in the world… The Smithfield area was given a facelift in the late 1990’s to accomodate the denizens of Ireland’s new found economic wealth. […]