NZ Visual Diary - entry 294

protest - Te Komititanga Square

Like large civic squares everywhere, Te Komititanga Square in Auckland’s city centre hosts celebrations and festivals; attracts buskers and other performers; and welcomes protesters or folks who just wish to sit and engage in the public practice of people watching.

As I walked across the plaza this afternoon, I spotted a pair of protesters from an animal rights group engaged in a silent vigil. They stood rigid, their faces hidden behind Anonymous masks.

I was intrigued with the postures of the two (non-protesting) couples depicted in the photograph. The couple at the rear of the procession had fixed their gaze on one of the protesters. The woman passerby is seen leaning-in with an open expression, suggesting she was more curious in the moment than bothered by the protester. I imagine that her eyes darted from mask to flat screen on which scenes of animal culling before slaughter were displayed in a gruesome endless loop. Her partner appeared to be more circumspect than she, but nonetheless engaged.

Contrast that engagement with the attitude of the couple who were abreast of the second protester when I captured my image. They had turned their attention elsewhere, uninterested in casting a cold eye on the second of the two protesters.