Pilgrimage

Jake Giles

Photospace Gallery
37 Courtenay Place, Te Aro, Wellington

12 May - 3 June 2023

Opening Friday 12 May, 5pm

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

We need your help to continue providing a year-round programme of online reviews, interviews, portfolios, videos and listings that is free for everyone to access. We’d also like to dream bigger with the services we offer to photographers and the visual arts.
We’ve partnered with Press Patron to give readers the opportunity to support PhotoForum Online.
Every donation helps.