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BRIDGIT ANDERSON – Stella & Cecil: A Kaikoura Composition – 6-24 July 2021

Scythes sharp as Cecil's instruments, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 780x520mm (image),   Picnics at the golf course, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 780x520mm (image),

Stella and Cecil Wallace created a home and a dental surgery at 43 Beach Road, Kaikoura in 1915. In 2020 Anderson collaborated with Margaret Egan, Stella and Cecil’s granddaughter, to create a series of 27 still life images composed of childhood memories, everyday domestic objects and the antique paraphernalia of Cecil’s dental practice. Drawing on conventions typical of Victorian studio photography, these compositions are an interweaving of historical and personal narratives. Just as the genes carry the code forward into the next generation, these still life images carry memories and histories; the things that have survived.

Bridgit Anderson studied photography at the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts (New Zealand) moving to London in 1985 and making her home just south of Tower Bridge. The Thames riverside community and local antique markets provided rich source material and inspiration for her documentary and studio practice. The Victorian custom of memorialisation was central to her series Caring for the Dead, in which she recorded the journey of the body from the time of death to that of burial or cremation. Psychology professor and writer Ken Strongman said, ‘Studying Bridgit’s images is like watching a Mike Leigh movie, but without any of the emotional anguish.’

 Anderson taught at Chelsea, Camberwell and Croydon Colleges of Arts, London, returning to New Zealand in 2004 to lecture at the University of Canterbury. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, and her work is held in private and national collections, including the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Photoforum review by Sally Blundell

Growling Lovely Bear & Penguin, 2020 inkjet on canvas, 300 x 300mm, framed Top Hat, 2020 inkjet on canvas, 300 x 300mm, framed Wind-Up Monkey, 2020 inkjet on canvas, 300 x 300mm, framed
Love in the mist, 2020 inkjet on canvas, 520 x 780mm, framed
Theory of gases, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 297x198mm (image), Poster, pomergranate & postcard, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 297x198mm (image), Chorus of burs, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 297x198mm (image),

Pillars of memory, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 280 x 420mm (image size), unframed Bright Eyes, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 280 x 420mm (image size), Grim procession, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 280 x 420mm (image size), unframed
Tins & labels, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 280 x 420mm (image size), unframed Always lavender, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 280 x 420mm (image size), unframed Dainty dishes, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 280 x 420mm (image size), unframed
Annotated & dated, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 297x198mm (image), Lemon squeezer, lime, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 297x198mm (image), Burs on red wax, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 297x198mm (image), unframed
Stella's sitting room, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 870 x 615mm oak frame
G.C Wallace, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 510x340mm (image), unframed Floating cabinet, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 510x340mm (image), unframed Parliament,2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 780x520mm (image), Ode to Christmas, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 340 x 510mm (image size), unframed

Box of teeth, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 297x198mm (image), unframed Stainless precision, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 297x198mm (image), unframed Cabinet, 2020 inkjet on canvas, 520 x 780mm, unframed Camera, candle, cup, 2020 pigment ink on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm, 340 x 510mm (image size), unframed

Bridgit Anderson’s photographs are printed in editions of 10.
Archival pigment inkjet prints on Canson Baryta Prestige 340gsm.
A few of the works in the exhibition are printed on Hahnemuhle cotton canvas, 410gsm.
All listed prices include smooth black framing.
If you would like a photo of the framed image on the wall please enquire.

An elegant publication accompanies this exhibition:

Stella & Cecil: a Kaikoura Composition
Bridgit Anderson (photographs), Margaret Egan (concept and words)
Published 2021 by Steele Roberts Aotearoa
Available in soft cover for $30, or $35 includes p+p within NZ.
(Limited hard cover copies available for $80 plus p+p)