Konini is a photographic publication which documents the homes on one street in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. The publication is 164 pages including foldouts and features 18 homes presented in a swiss bound cover exposing coptic bound sections.
Over time in Western societies, growing consumerism and home comforts have led to a decline in neighbourhood communities. The broad nature of the mandated Covid-19 lockdowns, which spanned the world in 2020, brought about unencountered feelings of community amongst many neighbourhoods, none more so than from a local experience within my own neighbourhood.
Reflecting on these feelings of community post 2020 lockdown sparked an idea about exploring a community and attempting to find out what has been under my nose for 15 years. The resulting project, Konini, documents inside the homes of my neighbours on Konini Road, in Titirangi, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Houses are structures that provide shelter, homes provide comforts and a space where people can be themselves amongst loved ones. For Konini, I am granted access into these private spaces that we call home in the most protruding way, with a camera. Documenting one road I aim to find similarities and differences, with the adornment of people's spaces, revealing the stories of their lives and homes. Konini is a designed photography publication which tested skills such as communication, organisation, planning and executing photo shoots. It was an ambitious project which allowed me to develop my practice, but also provided me with a base structure to explore a potential neighbourhood community, like the ones we see on TV, where everyone knows everyone.
