70. Absolutely Positively Wellington
A capital experience
Cities, like the people who live in them, are complicated and full of contradictions. Despite the efforts of civic leaders to brand and market cities as destinations offering a unique, distinctive, and enticing experience, it’s impossible to capture their multifaceted and constantly changing nature with a simple catchphrase or jingle. ‘Absolutely Positively Wellington,’ the slogan for New Zealand’s capital city since the early 1990s, is intended to reflect the city’s vibrant, creative, and optimistic spirit. It’s an open-ended slogan that doesn’t offer specifics or make firm promises. And that’s just as well.
No city offers a predetermined, packaged experience. It is what you find it to be, and what you find depends on where and how you look. Like us, places can forget where they are and what they are supposed to be doing. They can have a hard time getting their act together. They can forget their lines. But that’s OK. A city isn’t a dramatic production, artfully staged and professionally performed in three acts. It isn’t a novel, with an attractive cover, beautifully designed pages, and a witty, entertaining narrative. A city is a scrappy pile of bits and pieces — some shiny, some dull, some sharp, some smooth, and some with suggestive shapes and interesting textures and colours. Pick up the ones that catch your eye. Turn them over in your hand. Put them in your pocket. Take them home and make something with them.
What’s next?
Wellington is known for its nightlife, restaurants, cafés, and bars. I took many photos after dark during the week I spent there. I’ll process some night photos for the next post.
What do you think?
I invite you to leave a comment below.
Wonderful photos. Watching them on a big screen;)
All looking a bit derelict. Winter, or the winter of our discontent?! Just one glitzy hippo, standing monument to the entitled.