A couple of weekends ago I spent the day down in Christchurch. As per usual, it was a good chance to check out what has been happening in the city, and take some photo reference to see what has changed. Only this time I was expecting more. The city had some dramatic remodeling on the 4th of September via a 7.1 magnitude earthquake and since then has been adjusting. It was a good opportunity to walk around the city and see what is no longer there anymore. A lot of the buildings are just gone. No trace that they were there except the gaps between other buildings. A lot of the older stone buildings have lost facades, which hopefully can be repaired. The drive into the city showed house after house wrapped up on the rooftop as the evidence of a brick chimney which had collapsed inside.

For all that was lost though, you do get a feeling that Christchurch escaped something big. No loss of life is just a remarkable thing given the type of quake that had hit it. I’m very eager to see what the city will do to replace the buildings that it has lost. There is now a great opportunity to do some special things and give the city a newer identity. Updated to reflect itself post earthquake.

Aside from walking around, I also took in the Ron Mueck exhibition which is currently being held at the city’s art gallery. This guy makes the most amazing sculptures. The scale was always being played with, but each piece had immense detail. A stunning exhibition, and I am really glad to have taken the time to have seen it. This exhibition is running until the 23rd of January 2011. If you are going to be in Christchurch any time from now until then, I highly recommend you go check this out. Admission for an adult was $15 bucks. You won’t regret it. More information here.

It was a fantastic weekend in the garden city. The sun was out blazing, and the city always feels so alive when people are out enjoying the weather. I have some more photos up at my Flickr page.

Thanks for reading,
Marc