Gavin Hipkins
The Habitat
12 May – 11 June 2000
In The Habitat, a photographic frieze of late modern and New Brutalist New Zealand university buildings, Gavin Hipkins continued his exploration of the legacies of modernist utopianism. Hipkins’ grainy, grey prints emulate the New Brutalists’ ‘truth to materials’ dictum, expressing their preference for visible steel and primitive concrete, yet also signalling that times have changed, and so has the ‘truth’ of these buildings.

Gavin Hipkins, The Habitat (detail), 1999-2000, 72 black and white photographs, 510 x 660mm each. Courtesy of the artist

Gavin Hipkins, The Habitat (detail), 1999-2000, 72 black and white photographs, 510 x 660mm each. Courtesy of the artist

Installation view, Gavin Hipkins: The Habitat, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2000

Installation view, Gavin Hipkins: The Habitat, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2000

Gavin Hipkins, The Habitat (detail), 1999-2000, 72 black and white photographs, 510 x 660mm each. Courtesy of the artist

Installation view, Gavin Hipkins: The Habitat, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2000

Gavin Hipkins, The Habitat (detail), 1999-2000, 72 black and white photographs, 510 x 660mm each. Courtesy of the artist

Gavin Hipkins, The Habitat (detail), 1999-2000, 72 black and white photographs, 510 x 660mm each. Courtesy of the artist