MY CHOICE: Ritesh Verma / December 2021
December 2021: Ritesh Verma
Each month a member of our community is invited to browse our online collection and select six of their favourite artworks. Each My Choice selection, together with personal responses to the works, will be available to view on the Sarjeant Gallery website for one month at a time. The December 2021 My Choice has been selected by Ritesh Verma and is available to view until 31 December, 2021.
Ritesh Verma is Branch Manager at Property Brokers, Whanganui. Ritesh says “I was born in Auckland in the early 1980s and moved to Whanganui at the age of 8, Whanganui has been home since! I went to Carlton and Whanganui East Primary, the Whanganui Intermediate School and onto Whanganui High School. I started real estate at the age of 21 and have been doing it ever since! I reckon I have been inside 10% of the homes in this town, but the ones that I love the most are the beautiful 1920’s bungalows. Whanganui has been good to me and I love raising my 3 girls here, they certainly keep me busy. In my spare time I like to play cricket and golf and enjoy catching up with friends and family for a quiet beer and bbq!”
William Mein Smith Town of Petre on the Wanganui River, in September 1841 1841, 2021/5/1
“I like the fact the hills are bare and the river has a slight tinge of blue to it. Petre has been something I have heard lots about as Whanganui’s original name, but had never seen a picture of the time Whanganui was known as Petre. The two people on the roof make me smile, as if they are friends helping each other out getting a ‘weekend job’ done!”
Richard Wotton Keith Sewell, Wanganui 1978, 1982.37.6
“This reminds me of when times were less complicated – no phones, no internet, life was simple! It’s like the car has been out on its Sunday drive and Keith is polishing it up to put back in the garage – people took care of things then. I also like the brick state house behind the fence with a concrete tile roof, I bet Keith’s got a wonderful vege garden behind the fence.”
Unknown Artist Bridge Block, Victoria Ave., Wanganui circa 1900, 1994.12.3
“I work not far from here and I can just imagine the excitement in an up-and-coming city. The buildings wouldn’t have been that old at the time of this photo and it’s wonderful to see the fountain in the middle of the avenue where it remains today. Going to town was as good as it gets back then, that’s why I love the lady on the bike who is immaculately dressed!”
Frank Denton Flood Scene (Taupo Quay) 1940, 1997.22.2
“I work on Taupō Quay and our building got flooded in the 2015 floods, this picture certainly reminds me of those times. The young man sitting on his bike having a conversation with someone in the vehicle is cool, I wonder what the conversation was about? The building on the right, the trees planted on the left, the flooding – it can’t be anywhere but Whanganui!”
Frank Denton Whanganui River with boat and trig station circa 1920, 1997.22.8
“Such a cool picture. The well-dressed people perched against the fence only metres from the river, waiting for the boat to come in. The two cars are cool, especially the little one. I’m pretty sure I’ve stood in the same spot and been fishing also.”
Annie Davies Portrait of Edith Collier and Ethel M Davis with bicycles 1898, A2015.1.30
“I look at this picture and think how difficult it would have been to ride a bike with such long dresses and the ground they are cycling on amongst the trees can’t have made it easier! Their faces are so innocent, I wonder what they were doing and where they were going.”
Category
Past exhibitions 2021
