photo book review

An Expanding
Subterra

photographs by
Wayne Barrar

In this quirky but fascinating new book, New Zealander photographer Wayne Barrar explores the strange landscape of vast underground spaces – mostly caves and mines – that have been re-used for various odd purposes. The spaces are simultaneously futuristic and prehistoric (and often not a little reminiscent of the villains' hideouts in James Bond movies).

Two informative articles accompany the book. In his introductory essay, David L. Pike explains, "[Barrar's] photographs capture a space simultaneously natural and manmade, recalling the oldest principles of excavation while also documenting the most current practices of subterranean architecture and design ... This is what is happening in the subterra today; observe it, think about it, figure out what it means."

An Expanding Subterra
by Wayne Barrar

Hardcover: 128 pages
250 mm x 305 mm
84 color plates
Publisher: Dunedin Public Art Gallery
ISBN: 0-908910-59-2