This is not really an artist's statement, rather it's the outline of the project written before I photographed anything.

Subject:

Sporting trophies, the more minor and the older and grungier the better. Preferably obtained from charity shops. Breakages, tarnishing, dust etc to be left as found. Trophies engraved with winner's name preferred.

Material:

Polaroid 4" x 5" black & white 800 ISO sheet film for final images. Preliminary photos could be done on digital camera or b/w 35mm.

Theme:

New Zealand is a sporting nation, and we like to think we "punch above our weight" in international sporting arenas. This is debatable. A lot of our identity as kiwis is tied up in our pride in our sporting achievements.

We have many famous teams and individuals, but what about the less famous, the obscure, the unknown sporting achievers? For every Richie McCaw or Valerie Vili the is a Bob Blewitt whose greatest claim to sporting fame was Most Improved Player in his junior cricket team of 1972.

Each trophy meant something to someone at some time, but it has ended up on the shelves of the local op shop. Neglected, forgotten, discarded. Our individual identity is (arguably) built on mediocrity and obscurity as much as talent and fame.

By photographing the trophies in such a way that the personal attributions of each are highlighted, along with the history of the object evident in its decay, I hope to explore the concept of achievement and failure and the human issues involved in competition, the celebration of the elite reflected in the obscurity of the also-rans.

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