As often happens with Ranginui’s work, the production process became an extension of the pūrākau. Armed with her camera and a vision, the artist set out to capture images of Castlecliff, a community she has been connected to throughout her life. Despite being of the old bones of Whanganui, she found herself feeling uncomfortable and unwanted, falling prey to the reproaches of the alien inhabitants.◇◆◇Situated on the outskirts of a place considered home, the photographs tell a disorienting story. Taxidermied creatures are placed in environments we are accustomed to seeing them in while alive. Yet we know they aren’t meant to be there in death. A severed stag’s head is draped in plastic; the flaming snout of a boar protrudes from the awa in front of the meatworks; and dozens of antlers appear to sink below murky waters.◇◆◇Gentrification and taxidermy speak to similar contradictions. A stag is killed and mutilated so that its elegance and beauty can be possessed and admired. As newcomers are drawn to the cultural diversity and rugged creativity of Castlecliff, they take up space in a community that is not their own, failing to recognise that they are not becoming more like Castlecliff; Castlecliff is becoming more like them.—Aidan Ritchie