Welcome to the Never Project Space

Art has been around since early human history, its form changing as the ages go by. Contemporary, modern, art has paved a way where even the seemingly unartistic person, can express themselves in an artistic form. For such people, there are few places which seek to support and promote these art forms.

Never Project Space founder, Eliza Webster, feel strongly that community art has to be supported.

“I’ve spent so many tens and thousands of dollars of my own money on this place – I’ll never get it back, and that’s okay. It’s not for me, it’s for the community.”

Never Project Space is an independent artist-run building based in Frankton, Hamilton. It was started and founded by Eliza in 2015 and was known then as Skinroom. At the time she was a contemporary art student working with Wintec tutor, Geoff Clark. Like most other artists, Eliza sought to present her art, however there was no dedicated area to do so. So, instead, Eliza decided to make one herself and established Skinroom.

For a while, the area was dedicated to contemporary arts only, but over time and over the years, that began to change as more variations of art were included. Particularly, forms of music were incorporated into the space. Because of these changes, Eliza and those working in Never Project Space sought to change the name. This was difficult as she had to choose a certain period of time when the building was temporarily closed down to make the necessary renovations.

However, then came the national lockdown. While most found it daunting, especially small business owners, Eliza on the other hand saw it as a great opportunity and also a well-deserved break.

“It was great, it was my first holiday in six years – I slept for a week.”

Because it is a non-profit space as well, Eliza was not all that concerned about money. It was during this time that Eliza was able to make the necessary preparations and changes to transform what was formally known as Skinroom to the now known Never Project Space.

Portrait of an Artist

Among the many forms of art, the portrait, the art of representing someone, has been around since early civilization. In ancient times it was used to depict the elites of that society; now days with new technology, anyone can get their own fancy portrait. With said technology, that of course includes photography.

“I remember growing up running around with an old point-and-shoot camera, photographing anything and everything.”

Chris Davis is a portrait studio photographer who predominantly works in black and white, being more focused in using studio lighting to bring about the shape, form, and texture of the subject. Rather than going for traditional looks, his works tend to move more towards the fine art trend in things. Recently, Chris has been experimenting in using colours in his portraits for a more surrealistic approach.

Photography appeared to be innate for Chris. Growing up, he would spend his time taking pictures of “anything and everything”, though he stopped around the age of ten. But it was not long until it came back to him. During his high school years, his passion for photographic portraits started. For nine years since, Chris has enjoyed telling stories and narratives through portraits of people. It was in his second year at Wintec during his bachelor’s degree when he moved towards a studio and began emphasising lighting in his portraits, which changed his style significantly.

Like many other artists in the area and beyond, Chris from time to time presents his portraits in Never Project Space. He could be referred to as a veteran artist at the building since he was also there when the gallery first started as Skinroom. However, it was only recently that Chris was able to mount a solo exhibition at the gallery. “I have presented my work there a few times, none before have been a solo exhibition until now… Maybe you’ll see me there again next year.”

To explore Chris Davis photography check out his instagram @chris_dean_davis