Exploring a ‘place-based identity’ through personal experiences of both rural and urban environments.
'Two sides of the fence' recounts memories of my childhood in rural and urban environments and their significance in shaping my ‘place-based identity’. As a visual memoir, this project explores storytelling narratives and visual metaphors of the relationship between place and identity.
Documentary photography aims to capture the characteristics and emotional significance of place in shaping my identity. Water, as a significant photographic element in my project, acts as a powerful visual metaphor for the human spirit. It symbolises the deep interrelation of all life and its fundamental role in humanity. In Māori culture, it is believed that ancestors reside by wai (water) and that wai is therefore a sacred taonga (treasure). To me, water embodies movement, my adaptability and my appreciation of our natural world.
My project supports an understanding of the emotional and cultural significance of ‘place-based identities’ for rural-urban profiles in Auckland, New Zealand. It demonstrates how design, photography and multimedia can be used to recognise well-being, identity, community and self-reflection. My work aims to encourage an understanding of how place shapes oneself by sharing my dual perspective of two sides of the fence.
