CHC
southpole
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Figure 1: Christchurch passersby
Spent the day so far meandering slowly around Christchurch. I tried to see my friend Neil Pardington’s photos in a gallery south of Cathedral Square, but the gallery was closed. As I wandered around the area I realized I had made a mistake in past years by sticking close to or north of the Square. I had sort of written off the south part of town as a place for sex shops and fish and chips places. But the place has been transformed in the past few years into a hip mecca full of achingly tasteful, creative stores selling clothing, used books, antiques, gifts, skate clothes, and ethnic food, with miniature cafes and bars sprouting from tiny alleys. I felt as if I was in a Calvino Invisible Cities -style reworking of Christchurch, turning it into a southern version of Wellington’s Cuba Street, minus the cold wind off the Cook Strait.
Figure 2: Christchurch streetside bar
It has been great people watching here, though I haven’t been able to do them much justice in my drawings so far (it’s hard drawing people who don’t hold still!).
Most people are either young and so hiply-dressed that they should be working in an art gallery, or old and so sun-wrinkled that their faces look like dried fruit (some of these look like the gallery owners). Tourists seem to be mostly Chinese and Japanese families. I am a complete outsider here (I have seen very few Ice people so far) and don’t mind a bit. People seem to be relaxed, friendly, and happy. It’s as if New Zealanders are too busy for unpleasant matters such as wars or economic meltdowns and would rather stay in their own country and sip coffee at outdoor bars or create incredibly beautiful books, furnishings, clothing, etc. It would be nice to take some of that back home.
A fun day so far. I hope everyone up North (or way South) reading this
is doing well. For those who are curious, I started uploading some
drawings and photos.
Did I mention it’s about 79 degrees Fahrenheit here (25 C)?
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