Pete May, The Flying Kiwi – Photography
My name is Peter May, and I am a passionate photographer and videographer who has been fortunate enough to explore this remarkable country, capturing its natural beauty through my lens and preserving those moments as timeless art. Photography and videography are my way of sharing the awe-inspiring wonders of New Zealand with the world.
Growing up in this captivating land, I have developed an intimate connection with its landscapes, culture, and people. My Māori heritage grounds me in a deep appreciation for the rich tapestry of traditions and natural wonders that New Zealand offers.
Instagram: @iamtheflyingkiwi
Check out Pete’s work at www.theflyingkiwi.net
Bananes de Mexico
Lying on the floor
Of my spare room: New carpet, fresh paint,
Plantation style venetians
Black light fittings with big globe glass light bulbs. Instagrammable styles
Success, I’ve made it.
A real homeowner, with a ‘finished’ house;
No shitty moth-eaten carpet that smells
Of previous lives
No half-stripped wallpaper silent, mocking testimony to fashions come and gone.
Two boxes:
Cardboard
“Bananes de Mexico” and an Aztec-looking border
The contents of my mother’s life
Gifted to me
Because she moved into a residential care unit. “An Old People’s Home”
It’s not home, though, is it?
And it can’t all fit
In a room
Designed to hold an elderly woman: frail
A room.
A bed, a dresser, a chair.
A TV
An ensuite.
Incapable of holding an entire life
So I lay here
On the floor of my success
And look at photos of me as a 3 year old
And a card I sent to my mum
When I was 19
and travelling the world (not to Mexico, though).
And a lock of my hair
That mum had snipped all those years ago.
From when I was a little kid.
A time-capsule, a memory. Pre-colour. Shiny blonde
And plaited.
And I grieve
For the 3-year-old me
Innocence gone.
And my 92-year-old mum
Diminished.
And the intersection of two lives
In two boxes
“Bananes de Mexico”
Red
With Aztec designs on the border.
Words by Stella Pennell
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