2 pm, Saturday 7 August 2021
Waitohi Community Hub
34 Moorfield Rd, Johnsonville
 
Photography Aotearoa’s exhibition ‘Authors – Photographs by Alan Knowles’ features over 70 portraits of New Zealand and overseas novelists, poets, non-fiction writers and other authors, taken in and around Wellington and on tour. The authors featured range from household New Zealand names such as Margaret Mahy, Fiona Kidman and CK Stead through to international bestsellers such as Margaret Atwood and Frederick Forsythe. 
 
Come and hear Alan talk about the experience of making these images, touring with some of the authors, and the significance of both writing and photography as cornerstones of our liberal democracy. This is a public event open to all with no charge for admission. 

The following is Alan Knowles' speech notes from his brief talk during the opening of 'Authors - Photographs by Alan Knowles'. Speakers at the opening were Juliet Blyth - CEO of Read NZ, Northern Ward City Councillor Jill Day and Mark Beehre of Photography Aotearoa. All photos on this page: John Williams.

"When Mark, James and John approached me to do this exhibition they imagined 20 photographs in a row … well … they got that and some. Thanks guys for your indulgence and big effort in getting this show up, and thanks for the council for chipping in. To those who are not up here, I tried – you are not forgotten.

Now, if you are wondering about the hat, it was a master stroke inflicted on us by Karen Ross before our WOW tour of Otago and Southland. Perhaps she thought we needed a uniform to unite us, and in a way it did. Writers and photographers are generally not team players and the hats became kicking boys to be defiantly left in the motel. As you see it only appears once on the head of The Southern Man.

That is except for goody goody two shoes here who did as mother asked and wore his hat. Everyone signed it, Brigid added a couple of Xxs, dear girl, and I cadged badges off the school principals we visited. So there we have Southland Girls High, James Hargest, Gore High, St Anglem College, St Peters, a deer tag from my brother's farm in Lumsden, and a feather from Oreti Beach.

Thankyou for coming along to celebrate authors everywhere who entertain, inform, infuriate and delight us. I salute their courage to challenge despots large and small and their dogged perseverance in sharing their thoughts. Writing is hard, solitary work and we are fortunate to live in a culture that, to quote PEN NZ, defends the right to freedom of expression, and right to fair reward.

Recently authors went public seeking better remuneration, and I support them, as writing is poorly paid. And, please writers, remember your poor photographer cousins who are also not handsomely remunerated by your publishers and editors.

Like writing, photography is hard lonely work. There's heavy and expensive equipment to be lugged about, and scary situations to confront to get the picture. This followed by hours of confinement in the darkroom or at the computer sorting, editing and adjusting the images and arranging outlets for them.

Both disciplines, writing and photography, are corner stones of our liberal democratic culture and are too often taken for granted. Perhaps because of their ubiquitous nature they are under threat by political correctness, cancel culture, fake news and despots within our little families and nation states who seek to suppress the truth.

Behind every portrait here is a huge back story of experience, scholarship, research, reading, self doubt, personal peril and above all, courage.

Author and Governor General, Sir Bernard Ferguson, came to my school in Timaru when I was in the fourth form. “Boys” he said, adjusting his monocle, “There are very few natural leaders among us, less than 10%, and of those only half will lead you in the right direction. Its for you to decide who to follow.”

I see authors as leaders who speak out against hypocrisy and lies. As followers, the least we can do is send them messages of support.

To quote Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka over there, who honoured us with his presence in Wellington: “The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism,” and “The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.”

He was imprisoned in Nigeria for his beliefs. Then there is Jung Chang & Michael Halliday whose book Mao The Unknown Story exposed the deaths of 70 million Chinese citizens in peacetime.

All these photographs were taken while authors were on tour. You might think what a romantic existence – I'm not so sure.

I have been in the Green Room of the Embassy with some of them and sensed first hand their fear of public speaking. I have toured with writers who go into paroxysms of doubt over what they'll say to a bunch of school kids; because by nature they would rather be back in their studios writing. Yet here they are staring down their demons and courageously exercising their right, and our right, to free speech.

And in the middle of all this stress some bloke called Knowles pops up and wants to take their photograph! Thankfully most said yes.

Writers deserve our support - we need to buy their books, and read them, if just to enter a different echo chamber than the one we inhabit. For if we don't read we have no right to rule."

END

Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth - Soyinka

Alan Knowles
Waitohi - Johnsonville Library, Wellington

Thanks to the Independent Herald for publishing this article in their June 10th community newspaper.
The exhibition 'Authors - photographs by Alan Knowles' opened on Saturday 12 June, 2021 and will be on display at Waitohi, Moorefield Road, Johnsonville, for at least the rest of this year. It is in the 1st floor walkway area, which provides a very nice display space.
The last section of the article explains neatly what Photography Aotearoa has been doing and has planned for the near future. The text of the article is repeated below in two sections for ease of reading.

This article appears with 'Bygone days Recalled' on page 3 of the Independent Herald of 23rd January, 2020. It is from an email interview by Glenise Dreaver with james Gilberd of Photography Aotearoa.

There is mention of talks and a weekend photography workshop associated with the exhibition of John B. Turner's photographs of Johnsonville in the 1960s. Updated information will appear on this page.

This article on page 3 of the January 23rd issue of the Independent Herald - a Johnsonville-based free newspaper covering Wellington's western and northern suburbs, describes very much the sort of reaction and engagement we were hoping would result from the exhibition of John B. Turner's photographs of Johnsonville in the 1960s.
Also see blog post on the neighbouring story - James Gilberd interview
You can view the PDF of this issue of the Independent Herald here.

15.  Mobil Service Station, 1967.

This photograph appears in the exhibition 'A walk down Johnsonville Road - Photographs of Johnsonville from 1966-1969 by John B. Turner at Waitohi - the new Johnsonville Library and Community Hub - running from 14 December 2019 to mid-March 2020.

If you would like to share your knowledge, stories or memories relating to this photo, please comment below.

1. Retail block, corner of Broderick Rd / Johnsonville Rd, 1967. This is one of the few older buildings surviving on Johnsonville Road today.

This photograph appears in the exhibition 'A walk down Johnsonville Road - Photographs of Johnsonville from 1966-1969 by John B. Turner at Waitohi - the new Johnsonville Library and Community Hub - running from 14 December 2019 to mid-March 2020.

If you would like to share your knowledge, stories or memories relating to this photo, please comment below.

2. Symond's Buildings, 24 Dec.1966. Taken from Broderick Road corner.

This photograph appears in the exhibition 'A walk down Johnsonville Road - Photographs of Johnsonville from 1966-1969 by John B. Turner at Waitohi - the new Johnsonville Library and Community Hub - running from 14 December 2019 to mid-March 2020.

If you would like to share your knowledge, stories or memories relating to this photo, please comment below.

3. New BNZ, new Cuttings Shoe Store, Self Help, 1969.

This photograph appears in the exhibition 'A walk down Johnsonville Road - Photographs of Johnsonville from 1966-1969 by John B. Turner at Waitohi - the new Johnsonville Library and Community Hub - running from 14 December 2019 to mid-March 2020.

If you would like to share your knowledge, stories or memories relating to this photo, please comment below.

4. Old BNZ, 1967. (The wall of Self Help is on the right.)

This photograph appears in the exhibition 'A walk down Johnsonville Road - Photographs of Johnsonville from 1966-1969 by John B. Turner at Waitohi - the new Johnsonville Library and Community Hub - running from 14 December 2019 to mid-March 2020.

If you would like to share your knowledge, stories or memories relating to this photo, please comment below.