Speaking to the essence of photography as a medium bound to the attempt to arrest the fleeting moment, Chris Corson-Scott remains resolutely insistent on the use of analogue film and ‘old-fashioned’ 8×10 view-camera as critical to the aesthetic of his work.

He produces haunting images that sit within a global conceptual discourse focussed on the international structures that facilitate wealth extraction from individual countries’ natural resources, and the ways in which these give rise to cycles of development and decay. The photographs ask us to pay attention to the future of human occupation of our planet; and consider how the quest for sustainable development in this century will collide with these structures.

Reminding us of our collective dependence upon the natural world, Corson-Scott’s images are hard-won. Unsettling juxtapositions of historic industry within the reclaiming natural world are uncovered by diligent research and multi-day hikes lugging an 8 x 10 camera, capturing the past before it disappears entirely. Although young, Corson-Scott has exhibited widely, with his work included in numerous museum exhibitions, and photographic exhibitions in Switzerland and China; has curated and published collaboratively; and is developing a feature documentary film and a monograph.

Exhibitions include The Devil’s Blind Spot (2016-17) at Christchurch Art Gallery; Kinder’s Presence (2013-14) at Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki; History in the Taking: 40 Years of PhotoForum (2014) at The University of Auckland’s Gus Fisher Gallery; Photo 14, Maag Halle, Zurich, Switzerland; My Place (2013) Pingyao International Photography Festival, China; Recent Auckland Photography (2013) at North Art; and solo exhibitions at Photospace Gallery, Wellington; the artist-run space Snake Pit, New Photographs (2012); and Photographs (2011) at Wallace Art Centre. With art historian Edward Hanfling he is the co-author of Pictures They Want to Make: Recent Auckland Photography (Photoforum, Auckland: 2013).

Public Collections include Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland; Chartwell Collection at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland; Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu; Wallace Arts Trust, Auckland; NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Corson-Scott lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand.