As a student then graduate of the University of Canterbury's School of Fine Arts in the 1980s, David Cook wandered the streets at all times of day and night, finding new vantage points and meeting strangers. The camera was his licence to explore. Part anthropologist, part cultural commentator, he captured bell-ringers and boot boys, beery crowds, nuns, mums with prams, the “seagull man” and this view of children playing amongst the fallen leaves in Cathedral Square – their youth and exuberance offering sharp contrast to the historic buildings and tram. “I was always challenging myself to try and see the city from different vantage points” Cook said. “I wanted to try and bring to light the significance of everyday things and to prompt people to think differently about familiar surroundings.”

(Turn, Turn, Turn: A Year in Art, 27 July 2019 – 8 March 2020)