Beat Billson

Beat Billson (b. 1988) is a Medical Physicist from Staffordshire in the UK. He currently lives and works in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is a self-taught photographer who focuses his spare time documenting the surrounding suburbs of Christchurch and the New Zealand landscape. His work has been featured in publications such as Free Lunch Cartel Vol.1 and Subjectively Objective, as well as other online publications. Beat is currently working on a project documenting the coastal suburb of New Brighton and its response to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

There’s no here

New Brighton is an eastern seaside suburb of Christchurch, NZ. Originally its own distinct coastal village, separated from the outer suburbs of Christchurch by swampy areas surrounding the Avon river, New Brighton has since been swallowed by Christchurch city.

New Brighton suffered heavily in the 2011/2012 Christchurch earthquakes, with severe building damage and liquefaction. Since then, the recovery has been slow with significant under-funding and a lot of the surrounding housing land being written off as part of the “red zone”.

This is a portrait of a scenic coastal town slowly recovering.

To view more of Beat Billson’s work please visit his website.