Mongrel Mob convention

item details

NameMongrel Mob convention

ProductionAns Westra; photographer; 1982; Porirua

Classificationblack-and-white prints, gelatin silver prints, documentary photographs, works of art

Materialsphotographic gelatin, photographic paper, silver

Materials Summaryblack and white photograph, gelatin silver print

Techniquesblack-and-white photography

DimensionsImage: 266mm (width), 259mm (height)

Registration NumberO.042753

Credit linePurchased 2014

Overview

This extract originally appeared in New Zealand Photography Collected: 175 Years of Photography in Aotearoa (Te Papa Press, 2025).

Ans Westra’s photographic approach was always stand-offish. She would typically position herself a short distance back from a scene and peer down into her twin-lens, waist-level camera — an inconspicuous observer in plain sight. But if she was not outwardly engaged with her subjects, she was entirely so in her heart and mind. Here, she makes us feel fully present, having a beer with the ‘Mob’ ourselves. The boot and outstretched hand at right, and the hand with bottle at left, simultaneously draw us into the frame and create a sense of other people all around. Confronted by the boot in our face and the sight of a Nazi-helmeted tough guy opening a bottle with his teeth, we might feel that this is one party we’d like to leave early; yet this is undercut by the warm, gentle tummy touching and sweet grins of the two at left, pointing to the real people behind the intimidating front of gangs. Westra often captured the small, human moments of life, and this is no exception.