Statement
41 Gold Coast Lifeguard Towers uses the lifeguard towers as a device to frame the urban context of the city. The project consists of 41 photographs, one per lifeguard tower, each embedded in the many contexts of the ever-changing Gold Coast foreshore and depicted from various aspects, in varying degrees, seasons and circumstances. The lifeguard towers are an architectural character in the story of this city and the Australian beach vernacular. Other than exploring this unique history and hoping to represent the proud history and culture of Gold Coast, Queensland and Australian lifesaving, in some ways, the project provides a reflection on our basic human need to feel at home within a greater ecological setting, on how a psychological bond is formed between place and person.
Aaron Chapman is an artist and writer based in Murwillumbah, New South Wales. Chapman’s work is motivated by space, memory, and architecture, often considering the concept of ‘home’ and its psychological impact.