Ken Walters - A Retrospective

“He saw the world like a photograph not like a painting.”
Ken Walters - A Retrospective,’ delivers a fine sense of nostalgia.
Walters arrived in Rarotonga in 1978 from New Zealand and lived his life here with his wife Lorna until he passed away in 2004. Walters chronicled Rarotongan life from the late seventies to the late nineties. The photographs provoke connection and familiarity for those who were present during the time of Walters’ work; they also open a window into the past for newcomers. A look at the not so distant past lends insight to changes, and shifts made to the landscape, traditions, festivities, and style of the Rarotonga that we see today.
As a Manager and Pharmacist at CITC for 12 years, Walters played a key role in making photography an accessible medium, bringing the first photo processing machine to Rarotonga. Previously, all film had to been sent overseas to be developed. With our current digital abilities and our numerous resident photographers, both professional and hobbyists, it is interesting to note this turning point for photography in the Cook Islands.
From a library of thousands of Walter’s photographs, this exhibition features fifty key printed images that perfectly captures the Ken Walters experience. Also part of the show is a media loop that showcases annual or reoccurring events, namely Manu Manea Fashion shows, Miss Cook Islands Pageants and Constitution Float Parades.
He was a realist, and was not interested in manipulating an image to create an experience or perspective but captured what was in front of him. Each photograph was taken with a direct point of view with a straight forward composition. Walters clearly understood himself as a documentarian, took photographs abundantly, all dated and labeled meticulously. While Walters’ photographs are of such a wide variety and vast quantity, there is common and logical intention to record each event honestly and objectively.
Shawn Larsen
Curator

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