reality check

Despite their physical mass and functional purposes, car parks tend to claim a relatively modest place in the attention of city dwellers. Structuring transit and organizing experience, a car park becomes visible mainly as a station between work and home, between one hotel and the next, between private and collective spaces. Car parks are everywhere, yet hardly noticed: they could contend for inclusion in Marc Augé¿s list of non-places. Over the last three years, Helga Goran has photographed car parks from Christchurch and Wellington, New Zealand, examining space, presence and ¿the real¿ as apparent in locations like the Marion Street car park. Goran has approached her subject from a variety of angles, alternating sharp and blurred shots in her recording sessions. She has eventually brought together descriptive and atmospheric photographs in successive series of composite images. For Goran, photographing the Marion Street car park becomes an exploration of time, mood and perspective. Goran¿s reality check traces the steps of her research, highlights her interests in modern and contemporary photographic practices, and reveals the stages of her own photographic process.