Go to sections of East Christchurch, and you'll still find acres of empty land subdivided only by the trees and bushes that once marked the borders of individual properties, the area pervaded by what Charlie calls a "strange empty feeling". Go to the western suburbs and life continues, for the most part, as it always has—homeowners water gardens in front of white-fronted villas, children cycle suburban streets.
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It's sometimes hard to believe that the first Christchurch earthquake was six years ago and that this dichotomy still exists—the abandoned east and the affluent west. For Charlie, this is the most striking aspect contemporary Christchurch. "It was fairly easy for me to go and shoot this content, but then I could drive home to my house on the other side of the city, with it's garden, it's surrounding houses, and street, all intact, as it has been for years and years."The absence of people in her work, in a weird kind of artistic alchemy, highlights that these spaces used to be full of them. "I hope that those viewing the images can imagine the people, lives and stories that used to populate these streets not so long ago."See more work by Charlie Rose here on Instagram.
