Art galleries and museums emptied of their art objects have preoccupied my art practice since photographing Anderson Park Art Gallery in 2017. The Invercargill gallery was built as a home in 1925 then gifted to the community as an art gallery in 1951. It closed eight years ago for earthquake strengthening. While the gallery's collection was being moved into storage, I photographed what remained within the emptied gallery rooms. The images were presented in the exhibition Shift at Invercargill Public Art Gallery the following year.
A similar situation presented itself to me last year through the Aigantighe Art Gallery, Timaru. The building began as a homestead in 1905 before becoming a Regional art gallery in 1956. Aigantighe House was closed in 2017 due to seismic concerns and emptied of its exhibits. The emptied art gallery presented an opportunity for me to further explore the question: without art exhibits to view in an art gallery, what its left to see?
Aigantighe House presents images of the gallery's spacious and intimate rooms showing exhibition display devices - picture rails, hooks, wall texts - and shadowy window light in twelve hyper-real photographic prints.
Aigantighe House was presented at Aigantighe Art Gallery 10 June - 24 July 2022.
