Recorded for posterity
October 27th 2008 07:01
This is connected to the theme of work, in a roundabout way. Yesterday my wife and two of my grandchildren visited the Chinese Gardens, and then, because they’re next door, to the Otago Settlers’ Museum (formerly the Early Settlers’ Museum), which is now partly in the
wonderful old Art Deco building that used to be the main bus station, and partly in its original building. The two have been combined.
I wanted to go particularly because they were holding an exhibition, called Shopkeeping, a view on Dunedin Retailers by Chris Gable. I’d received a notice about this in the post the other day, and remembered then that there was a good reason for me to get a notice: I would be in the exhibition’s photos.
About three years ago, I’d think, Chris Gable came to the shop I managed in Stuart St, and said he was doing a project: photographing shopkeepers around the city. He aimed to put on an exhibition of the results at some point. He photographed both John – who owned the secondhand bookshop that was in the same space – and me. I got a copy of the photo a while later, and it hangs on the wall somewhere in my house. I just can’t think where at the moment!
Anyway, I took my grandchildren into the large room where the photos were, and suggested that they look and see if they recognised anyone. After a bit of scooting around they found my photo. John’s was on the opposite side of the room. Like some others, we had, underneath the details of who, where and when, that the business was no longer trading. I imagine some of the others are now into online trading, as well, things being what they are.
I remember thinking when I first saw the photo that I looked quite worn out – with good reason: the shop was just about doing me in. I don’t know that I really do look so tired, in fact; maybe it was subjective.
Photo of the former bus station from the Wikipedia site.
I wanted to go particularly because they were holding an exhibition, called Shopkeeping, a view on Dunedin Retailers by Chris Gable. I’d received a notice about this in the post the other day, and remembered then that there was a good reason for me to get a notice: I would be in the exhibition’s photos.
About three years ago, I’d think, Chris Gable came to the shop I managed in Stuart St, and said he was doing a project: photographing shopkeepers around the city. He aimed to put on an exhibition of the results at some point. He photographed both John – who owned the secondhand bookshop that was in the same space – and me. I got a copy of the photo a while later, and it hangs on the wall somewhere in my house. I just can’t think where at the moment!
Anyway, I took my grandchildren into the large room where the photos were, and suggested that they look and see if they recognised anyone. After a bit of scooting around they found my photo. John’s was on the opposite side of the room. Like some others, we had, underneath the details of who, where and when, that the business was no longer trading. I imagine some of the others are now into online trading, as well, things being what they are.
I remember thinking when I first saw the photo that I looked quite worn out – with good reason: the shop was just about doing me in. I don’t know that I really do look so tired, in fact; maybe it was subjective.
Photo of the former bus station from the Wikipedia site.
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