This work carries a film photograph of the rocky coast at Te Rawhiti. The negative has been processed using a natural photographic developer derived from phenols extracted from invasive Caulerpa seaweed, and fixed with seawater, then printed on translucent silk.

Caulerpa developer is unpredictable in its potency; dependant on harvest times, sunlight, and other environmental and tidal factors affecting the seaweed as it grows. In this way, it holds a memory of the period of time since the organisms establishment within the marine environment. Fragments of plant matter and salt leave marks and scratches on the surface of the film emulsion, creating a lurid and fragile image of a coastline as seen by a new arrival to its shores.

In 2023, the invasive seaweeds Caulerpa brachypus and Caulerpa parvifolia were discovered for the first time on the Aotearoa mainland near Te Rawhiti, in Ipipiri Bay of Islands. The location was Ōmākiwi Cove, near our Whiorau Bay home. The species had already infiltrated and decimated marine environments overseas and at Aotea, devastating the community there.

Caulerpa’ means ‘stem (that) creeps’, and the weed can spread rapidly from a 2mm leaf to establish a thick and smothering mat that stretches for kilometres, starving other marine plants and organisms of space and sunlight. This seaweed was most likely introduced by the yachts and cruise ships which frequent Ipipiri in summer. It is rapidly impacting an isolated community which has relied on gathering kaimoana for generations.

This piece is part of a wider body of work made to process my own sadness, and that of the community at Ipipiri during this time. Pictures made to mourn the impending loss of a precious ecosystem, and a changing way of life.

The work was made with advice and guidance from members of Te Rawhiti hapū Ngati Kuta and Patukeha, the Ministry for Primary Industries, Northland Regional Council, and marine scientist John Booth.

Hannah Rose Arnold is a photographic artist. Her pictures document the relationship between people and the places they inhabit. Her practice is informed by a deep concern for and connection with the environment, and the complex history of Aotearoa post-colonisation. She uses physical film and moving image in innovative ways, extending to include found materials and installation.

Hannah holds a Bachelor of Photography from Unitec Institute of Technology. Her work has been exhibited at Arts House Trust, Public Record, Webbs, and as a finalist in the ANZ Photobook of the Year Award. In 2023, she was the inaugural resident of the Auckland Festival of Photography’s Kōwhai Residency to Tokyo.

Originally from Tauranga, Hannah is currently based at Pārāwai, where she keeps a studio in the former nuns home.

@hannahrosearnold