The series 'Homewardbounder' shows the entrances to ‘adits’, or horizontal mineshafts, left in the landscape after exploration by gold miners during the 1860s gold rush in the West Coast region of New Zealand. These dark, damp spaces convey a history of aspiration and struggle, as the men that sought to make their fortune there faced harsh realities: an unforgiving landscape, difficult working conditions and a hand to mouth existence.
The adits serve as reminders of New Zealand’s pioneering history and the extraordinary decisions that ultimately shaped our country. And yet this is only one version of the story, as there are histories often untold: women on the goldfields and waiting at home, and problematic European attitudes toward ownership and domination over the land at odds with the views of local Māori.
'Homewardbounder' considers the legacy of mining on the West Coast – a complex legacy that continues to impact the region today, as the instability of the mining industry now poses a threat to the communities it once established.
'Homewardbounder' has been exhibited at Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington, 1-25 April 2015, Scott Building, School of Design Art and Architecture at Plymouth University, UK 16 Nov – 10 Dec 2015, and at Te Tuhi, Auckland in THE HIVE HUMS WITH MANY MINDS Part One, curated by Bruce E. Phillips, 12 March 2016 - 29 May 2016.
Publication: Here
Floor talk with Jessica Hubbard: Here
Homewardbounder #01. 2014.
Homewardbounder #02. 2014.
Homewardbounder #03. 2014.
Homewardbounder #04. 2014.
Homewardbounder #05. 2014.
Homewardbounder #06. 2013.
Homewardbounder #07. 2014.
Homewardbounder, Enjoy Gallery, : April 2015
'Homewardbounder' Enjoy Gallery, : April 2015