O.K., first of all, apologies for this month’s And That Was… entry being so late (total blame at my feet, but let’s not get into that), but, as they say, better late than never! This month I asked the man about town himself, graffiti artist and photographer Aaron P.K. to run down a list of things that he enjoyed in Christchurch through the wintery month of July. Exactly as I had hoped for, he came back with a collection that touched on so many elements of Christchurch urban (and suburban) life; from small eateries, to the Christchurch Arts Festival and local music, and, of course, graffiti and street art. So, let’s see what made Aaron P.K.’s July…
Wild Dogs Under My Skirt/Christchurch Arts Festival
I was blessed to be given a ticket to Wild Dogs Under My Skirt, a theatre show based on the book of the same name by Christchurch poet Tusiata Avia that featured as a part of the Christchurch Arts Festival. It’s about Samoan womanhood, and it was both heavy and humorous, leaving me amazed. They did an awesome job with this year’s Arts Festival, with a huge amount of local artists, I wish I could have caught more of it.
Kool Aid – Family Portrait EP
Christchurch band Kool Aid released an album, titled Family Portrait, in July and it’s really good. Listen to it here https://koolaidnz.bandcamp.com/ or you want a hard copy, buy the cassette at Ride On Super Sound.
Adventure Time
For a while I’d started to think Christchurch had ran out of neglected spaces where you could have a leisurely afternoon walk around and feel somewhat alone. This month I’ve been doing a lot of walking off the beaten path then down the goat trail and it’s been pretty rewarding…
Chanakya’s Dal Spinach
I’ve been coming to Chanakya for a few years now. There’s always something new to try and in July I had their Dal Spinach for the first time and it’s now my favorite. They’re a small South Indian restaurant down the same alleyway as Bin Inn in New Brighton Mall and they’re definitely worth a trip out from Lyttelton…
Cathedral Junction Stickers
I would have liked to have featured something a bit better in the graffiti/urban observation genre. Whenever I’ve seen something cool I haven’t thought to take a picture of it, but I did manage to snap this. It’s been quite a long month so it’s hard to recall what’s been popping up but I’ve enjoyed seeing what the new generation AOC have been up to. And Oink, Oink’s cool as well!
Follow Aaron P.K on Instagram: @aaron.p.k
