The buildings notice me / Duncan Winder: architectural photographs

Artists: Megan Brady, Doreen Blumhardt, Brook Konia, John Harris & Steven Junil Park, Roy Cowan, Mataaho Collective, Jim Murphy and Duncan Winder.

Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery has launched its winter season with two exhibitions: The buildings notice me and Duncan Winder: architectural photographer.  

The buildings notice me is a selection of meditative works that invite us to slow down and reflect on the reciprocal relationship between our built environment and lived experience. Curated by Sophie Thorn, this group exhibition features works by New Zealand-based artists Megan Brady, Doreen Blumhardt, Brook Konia, John Harris & Steven Junil Park, Roy Cowan, Mataaho Collective, and Jim Murphy. Soft, sonic and ceramic these works help us to pause and study the way we take up space. As is fitting for a university environment, several of the works refer specifically to me ngā kete wānanga a Maori pūrākau (story) about obtaining the three baskets of knowledge. Thinking deeply about the buildings we learn in and from, The buildings notice me asks: Is it possible to both preserve our history while moving forward?; Can we unpick threads to relearn knowledge? What is kept and when do we start anew? 

Duncan Winder: architectural photographs, curated by Sebastian Clarke, presents a selection of images from the architect-turned-photographer’s archive. In the 1960s, Duncan Winder (b.1919-d.1970) transitioned from architect to architectural photographer. With his attuned eye, Winder produced distinctive photographic records of twentieth century architecture in Aotearoa New Zealand, which endure in their relevance today. Despite his serious contribution to our local architectural culture and history, contemporary knowledge of Winder’s life, work and legacy has remained limited.  

Winder’s practice was largely focused on architecture in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington and central parts of the North Island. In the decades that have passed since Winder’s death, many of the buildings that he documented have been irreversibly altered or demolished. In some cases, Winder’s images endure as the primary account of important pieces of New Zealand architectural history. Winder’s archive has been digitised and made publicly accessible thanks to the work of the Alexander Turnbull Library. As Clarke notes this immense digitisation project presents a unique opportunity for appraising and re-appraising Winder’s catalogue, and to expand the perspective on the evolution of architectural photography in Aotearoa New Zealand.  

Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery is the art gallery of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington located in Wellington, the capital city of Aotearoa New Zealand. It is a forum for critical thinking about art and its histories as well as the professional structure within which the Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection is managed. The gallery’s programmes aim to test and expand art form and disciplinary boundaries and create new opportunities to bring artists together and generate fresh conversations. The gallery is a remarkable architectural statement designed by the late Sir Ian Athfield, one of New Zealand’s foremost architects.