Robin Morrison: Road Trip

A new exhibition sharing the work of renowned New Zealand photographer and photojournalist Robin Morrison opens on Friday 3 March at Auckland War Memorial Museum. Robin Morrison: Road Trip showcases iconic images of Aotearoa’s South Island taken over the winter of 1979 during a seven-month family road trip. The exhibition coincides with a new edition of Morrison’s The South Island of New Zealand From the Road (Massey University Press).

Robin Morrison (1944-1993) was one of New Zealand’s most celebrated documentary photographers. He made striking, unpretentious images that documented everyday people, rural New Zealand, historic events and he also took portraits of significant New Zealanders. Morrison’s favoured medium was the book, and he produced over 30 titles. The original publication of The South Island of New Zealand From the Road in 1981 cemented his place in Aotearoa’s photographic history.

"Morrison was acutely aware of his artistic responsibility as a documentary photographer to record a land and society that was changing," says Auckland Museum Chief Executive David Gaimster. “In Robin Morrison: Road Trip we see a collection of 50 images that show the beauty and diversity of the South Island’s landscapes, people, and culture – all taken with Morrison’s trademark humour and humility.”

Robin Morrison’s images of the South Island take viewers straight back to an era that is now past. From Fred Flutey in his paua shell living room and the boys Ben and Balthazar in gumboots at the Fox River commune, to a visit to Fails Fish Cafe in Christchurch, the images show his unique ability to convey the essence of people and places in Aotearoa. Houses, caravans and rolling hills are all landmarks on Morrison’s journey.

To prepare for the exhibition and the book, Auckland Museum curator Shaun Higgins went through over 4,000 original Kodachrome slides Morrison took over those six months in the South Island.

Shaun Higgins says "Road Trip offers a chance to see the uniqueness of the South Island through Robin Morrison's skilled eye. Telling 'something more' about the people and places he encountered on his journey, Morrison instilled a sense of emotion as he affectionately presented New Zealanders to themselves."

The photographs in Road Trip are part of a vast collection of images Morrison gifted to Auckland Museum in 1992. The collection numbers at more than 100,000 photographs and negatives of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Robin Morrison: Road Trip has been organised with the support of Morrison’s son Jake Morrison and, together with the new edition of The South Island of New Zealand From the Road, offers a rare chance to experience the work of one of New Zealand’s most beloved and respected photographers.