Manapouri: Art, Power, Protest
Haruhiko Sameshima
Haruhiko Sameshima, West Arm, Lake Manapouri, 1995/2007, toned silver gelatin print, Courtesy of the artist
Haruhiko Sameshima
Lake Manapouri offers a rich and complex site for Haruhiko Sameshima's 'eco-Tourism' project, an ongoing investigation of the way the landscape is presented for the tourist gaze.
This photograph captures the complexities of the tourist experience of Manapouri. Tourists can take in the majestic scenery while travelling via fast ferry to visit the power station. The wonders of nature and modern engineering come together as tourist attractions.
Sameshima makes reference to the ways earlier photographers have responded to this site. 19th-century photographers often included a boat in their images of the lake, signalling activity and development to reassure the cautious tourist.
Sameshima updates this kind of imagery to show how the tourist experience has changed. He does not present a natural wonderland, but an ordered and controlled cultural site.
Image appears courtesy of Haruhiko Sameshima.
