Capital meditation

Wallpaper magazine takes a look at the city-scapes of Wellington through the lens of legendary American photographer Stephen Shore – who had three pictures acquired by the Museum of Modern Art, New York at age 14 and went on to become the first living photographer to have a one man show at the Met in 1971. Shore’s photographic essay features Lambton Quay, Oriental Bay, the southern coastline and Miramar backstreets. Shore’s perspectives are dramatic and unexpected, casting the city in a fresh new light and accompanied by some unconventional traveler observations on Wellington shopping, entertainment, excursions and eateries. “There’s something about the Pacific Rim that seems to make its big cities go either one of two ways. They either become sprawling corporate behemoths sucking in immigrants, dealmakers and chancers…or they go boho. In New Zealand, Auckland has taken the first route leaving Wellington, with the latte-slurping, grunge image. The multi-coloured wooden houses tumbling down the steep ravines to a dramatic natural harbour have only reinforced the Bay area comparisons. Add a whiff of Tolkein thanks to hirsute local resident Peter Jackson, and you could be forgiven for writing off Wellington as the world’s southernmost hippy city. But that would be oversimplifying the city.”