Jake Giles 'Pilgrimage' exhibition at Photospace Gallery, 12 May to 3 June 2023

Jake Giles 'Pilgrimage' exhibition poster, Photospace Gallery 12 May-3 June 2023, Wellington NZ

'Pilgrimage' - artist statement
 
I was born and raised in Christchurch, and it was during high school that I discovered my love for photography. I excelled in this subject and decided to pursue it further by moving to Wellington to study photography at Massey University. After completing my studies I tried my hand at working in the commercial photography industry but soon realised that it wasn't a good fit for me.
 
Feeling unfulfilled and in need of a fresh perspective, I decided to take some time off and embarked on a personal journey by walking the South Island Section of Te Araroa, a trail that spans from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Starting from the Queen Charlotte Track, I eventually finished on Stewart Island.
 
Through this experience, I came to appreciate the power of walking as a means of reconnecting with nature and recognising our place within the environment. We should see ourselves as a part of nature, not an external force upon it. While living in the city can have many benefits, I found that it was important for me to step back and gain a new perspective by immersing myself in the natural world.
 
“I went in the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life. And see if I could not learn what it has to teach and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived.”
- Henry David Thoreau

This is Jake Giles' first solo exhibition at Photospace Gallery. He was in the 2020 group exhibition
A Moment of Quiet the year he graduated from Massey University's photography degree programme.
Pilgrimage is a tight selection from many images taken during Jake's recent and extensive walking trip - the length of Te Wai Pounamu and beyond. His exhibition opens on Friday 12th May, 5pm-7pm, and shows in gallery room 3 until 2pm on Saturday 3rd June.
There will be an exhibition of paintings by Hana Carpenter - 'Borderland' - in gallery room 1. This is  a Gilberd Marriott Gallery exhibition, opening the same evening and running the same dates.

Trail Marker, photograph from 'Pilgrimage' by Jake Giles, Photospace Gallery 12 May-3 June 2023

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