Artwork Information

BSA, Auckland 1969 is an image of a man riding a large 750cc Birmingham Small Arms motorcycle. This image is a local affirmation of the maverick bike rider identity that is so well celebrated in Marlon Brando’s film The Wild Ones (which was then banned for screening in New Zealand). With his long hair, leather jacket, American blue jeans and bandaged left hand the man is the epitome of an urban outsider. By taking a bird’s eye view onto this man riding in the rain, the photographer creates a portrait of young adulthood which is essentially an atypically positive view of a stylishly quaffed and attired New Zealand bodgie of the period.