Expired

Wellington, April 2016: This large (by NZ standards) former tertiary institute expired at around the same time this Kodak Ektar 64T film did. And just like this 35mm expired film, it is apparently getting another lease of life. There are new owners and supposedly new occupants- but the only life we saw were some homies running their dogs (who tried […]

The Farm

Inside an abandoned former catholic girls farm/’rehabilitation unit’ I visited in mid 2013. Founded by a French sisterhood in 1953 – “the girls who came into the care of the sisters often had problems that could not be resolved in their normal environment and needed the loving care of others to restore their sense of self-worth.” The […]

The Cres

Wellington, Jan 2012: Visited this infamous Wellington suburb two years ago, just as the demolition of 88 state houses had begun. The area had gained national attention due to Mongrel Mob gang members terrorising other residents, and their ensuing refusal to abide by eviction notices. As of last visit the proposed new state houses were […]

Not For Humans (or animals)

Prison

One of New Zealand’s oldest prison’s has finally closed its doors- after well over a century of use. It’s current status is deemed earthquake prone and too expensive to maintain. Now decommissioned, it’s listed as a category 1 historic building and land-banked for Treaty of Waitangi settlements…

ill Institute

Wellington, NZ, May 2013. This purpose-built institute and accommodation halls- of which I briefly graced in the 90’s- is now largely vacant and abandoned. It was constructed in the early 1970s in typical Brutalist style- not exactly an architecture form for inspiring students. I for one certainly found its imposing totalitarian and fortress-like qualities unconducive […]

Mercy Truth

Wellington, Nov 2012: An abandoned prison garden- forsaken but not without hope…

In Vivo

In vivo (Latin for “within the living”) is experimentation using a whole, living organism- as opposed to a partial or dead organism. Animal testing and clinical trials are two forms of in vivo research. It includes “pure” research such as genetics, developmental biology, behavioral studies, as well as applied research such as biomedical research, xenotransplantation, drug […]

Incinerate

Wellington, NZ, yesterday: This former animal testing station lies broken and abandoned after twenty odd years. Theres few clues left as to what experiments went on here- they’ve disappeared like the unfortunate animal test subjects destroyed in the incinerators.