Victorian Auckland: Photographs by John Fields

The architect and historian John Stacpoole and photographer John Fields worked together in the early 1970s to capture Auckland's architectural heritage, culminating in the book Victorian Auckland: Photographs of the Earlier Buildings of Auckland. In a time when many Victorian buildings were being demolished the book can be read as a form of scholarly and artistic activism.

Photographs from the book have been selected for this exhibition, showing not only the grand and stately buildings of Auckland, but also the simple colonial cottages and chapels, store fronts and warehouses. The selection is intended to create a virtual tour of a number of buildings of interest as they stood in the 1970s. Stepping back from the message of the book to just look at the photographs is a rewarding exercise. The photographs delight in the exquisite details of the buildings captured, with particular attention paid to contrast and texture.

Victorian Auckland: Photographs by John Fields reasserts the importance of the authors' argument and reminds us that we should appreciate, value and look at our architecture.