‘Antediluvian’
2015 – 2020
Exhibited: March 03 to June 19, 2020, at the Richmond City Hall

Antediluvian – of a time before the flood…

For the past few years I have been exploring the outer reaches of Richmond. Investigating its past—the time before the flood of development, the flood of people, and it seems, inevitably, the rising tides that may flood out the very areas at the outer edges of Richmond.

I admit to a romance with the past of Richmond. As a child I would drive around Richmond with my parents, driving past the cranberry fields, along River Road—where the derelict boats, barges, and log booms reside—and out to Steveston to buy salmon fresh from the fishing boats and to walk the dykes. Since my childhood Richmond has grown and changed; grown vertically – especially in the No.3 Road strip, and changed demographically. Richmond has awoken to become a vibrant community with “world famous” night markets and restaurants. However, that growth has slowly threatened the origins and historic beginnings of Richmond—it’s farmers, boat builders, fishermen, and river-reliant communities.

The images highlight the still remaining rustic aspects of Richmond; the parts not seen by those seeking the Night Market, the Olympic Oval, the commercial centre of No. 3 Road, or those just trying to get to the airport. As Richmond moves further into the 21st Century, the priorities of environment and economy will put pressure on the city to grow and to change to meet these pressures: more development, more people, more worldwide attention. Richmond is more than these things. As with the city itself, its success lies in the land and the river. It is Its rich history still survives… on the peripheries.

With ‘Antediluvian’ I wish to express how that rich past, and contact to nature, still exists.

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