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PorkChop

$59.99

Pre-orders will ship on the 10th December 2026

A charming hardcover photography book by Catherine Russ documenting Palmerston North locals hanging out at Te Motu o Poutoa, aka Pork Chop Hill. A warm introduction by Michelle Duff brings together 45 portraits spanning two summers, twenty years apart. 

PorkChop is authentic, relatable, and will be treasured by Kiwis of all ages. Designed to evoke joy, contemplation, and gratitude for a universally specific place.

“Russ’s work reflects movement, shifts in time, and also how it stands still. Her characters could be up the hill twenty years ago, or they could be there yesterday. The effect of Russ’s photographs in this way is dizzying; they seem to bend time back on itself so that no matter what, people will always be up that hill. Drawn to that place. And no matter where you look, part of you is up there with them.” 

— Michelle Duff

CATEGORY Photography
ISBN 978-0-473-80255-4
PUBLISHER Battleship Books
PUBLISHED December 2026
PAGE EXTENT 112
FORMAT Hardback
SIZE 220 x 235 mm
PRINTED in China by Asia Pacific Offset, print management by Inc Productions NZ LTD

Pre-orders will ship on the 10th December 2026

A charming hardcover photography book by Catherine Russ documenting Palmerston North locals hanging out at Te Motu o Poutoa, aka Pork Chop Hill. A warm introduction by Michelle Duff brings together 45 portraits spanning two summers, twenty years apart. 

PorkChop is authentic, relatable, and will be treasured by Kiwis of all ages. Designed to evoke joy, contemplation, and gratitude for a universally specific place.

“Russ’s work reflects movement, shifts in time, and also how it stands still. Her characters could be up the hill twenty years ago, or they could be there yesterday. The effect of Russ’s photographs in this way is dizzying; they seem to bend time back on itself so that no matter what, people will always be up that hill. Drawn to that place. And no matter where you look, part of you is up there with them.” 

— Michelle Duff

CATEGORY Photography
ISBN 978-0-473-80255-4
PUBLISHER Battleship Books
PUBLISHED December 2026
PAGE EXTENT 112
FORMAT Hardback
SIZE 220 x 235 mm
PRINTED in China by Asia Pacific Offset, print management by Inc Productions NZ LTD

Michelle Duff

Michelle Duff is a journalist and writer originally from Kawakawa Feilding. She was the winner of the 2023 Fiction Prize from the International Institute of Modern Letters and her debut book Surplus Women tells stories of unruly girls. Her journalism has appeared in Aotearoa and internationally, including in the Guardian, Stuff, New Zealand Geographic, the Melbourne Age and the Sunday Times.

Image credit Ebony Lamb

Catherine Russ

As a teenager, Catherine Russ was influenced by The Active Eye (1975), a photography exhibition curated by Luit Bieringa at the Manawatū Art Gallery. Inspired by her night school tutor, Elam School of Fine Arts graduate, Kathryn McCool, Russ went on to photograph several local documentary projects including Pork Chop, Ladies Rest, Student Flats, Shall We Dance, Clubs and Salons. Russ has featured in the New Zealand Journal of Photography and Art New Zealand and exhibited across Aotearoa as well as at New Zealand House (London).

She was born in Motueka in 1965 and currently lives in the Pohangina Valley.

Check it out IRL

You can view the book in person in Palmy at Pork Chop Hill, the retail shop on George Street.

I’m hoping to be stocked in shops nationwide soon. Sign up for my newsletter if you’d like to stay informed.

Retailers and booksellers, please email me to arrange to sell this book.