Built in 1881, the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church was one of the many buildings conspicuously absent from the landscape when we flew over Christchurch last month. I’ve circled the relevant piece of dirt in the photograph below (click on the photo for a closer look). The building was badly damaged by the September 2010 earthquakes and then completely collapsed in the February 2011 earthquake. It was famous for having a sign out the front which read: “Our building is cracked, the Church is fine!” Although the neoclassical structure (an unusual style for Christchurch) is not going to be rebuilt, there are reports that the damaged Oamaru stone is to be used in a sculpture ― what a wonderful way of honouring the spirit and tenacity of its congregation.

The sketch is originally from this student project. Ben Heine’s ingenious Pencil Vs Camera images were my inspiration for this series.