Caroline McQuarrie PGDipFA, MFA, BFA

'All Roads End Here' is a long term fine art project exploring sites on the South Island's West Coast which were once towns but are no longer populated. Through photography, video, craft practices and performance it explores the imaginative space between current historical sites and our collective memory of the community that once existed. Early West Coast towns were usually settled haphazardly near the industry they fed, and as the industries changed so too did the places people lived. Many towns were very short lived as their gold or coal supplies turned out to be inaccessible or not extensive. Other factors, such as the ability for people to travel further to work also lead to populations shifting towards the larger towns on the West Coast, leaving more isolated settlements empty. This work will initially be exhibited in 'No Town' at Aratoi in Masterton April - June 2014, and Carnegie Gallery Hokitika November 2014, and through a performance in conjunction with community choir Womansong in Wellington with Old Hall Gigs in March 2014. The funding for this project will also allow further development of the work for exhibiting in 2015 and beyond.