Taika Waititi shot seven scenes lit only by a Zeekr’s headlights

Taika Waititi has made his debut as a photographer for a car company, and the only light in all seven images is the headlights of a Zeekr 7X.

Spotlight opens to the public in Ponsonby today and runs until Sunday, with free entry. Each image was shot in darkness with the 7X suspended from the ceiling of Studio West, the Auckland production facility Waititi co-owns, its headlights aimed to shape what the camera could see.

The seven scenes are an alien visitation, a caveman meeting the future, a warehouse rave, a bodybuilder mid-pose, a table set for a feast, a red-carpet swarm of paparazzi, and two sunburnt diners unbothered by any of it. Zeekr says the detail in each was built physically rather than generated, which it presents as the point in an era when software can conjure almost anything.

“The best bit about these images is we composed each scene without much at all, the spotlight, the car and single frames,” says Waititi. “From an alien abduction, to inflatable bodybuilder companion, to sunburnt couple on the beach, it was all lit the same simple way. It forced me to be specific and single-minded about each scene.”

“What I love about this project is the Zeekr 7X isn’t just featured in the work, it’s responsible for it,” says NordEast Group general manager Dane Fisher. “Taika has taken the vehicle’s most fundamental feature, its light, and used it to create seven completely original worlds.”

Zeekr Australia and New Zealand managing director Frank Li says the collaboration reflects the brand’s trans-Tasman ambition and its commitment to doing things differently.

The 7X is the brand’s local volume seller, priced here from $69,990 to $94,990, and its entry version is set to gain a larger 85kWh battery in China. Zeekr’s next New Zealand arrival is the 7GT shooting brake, which we drove at Highlands Motorsport Park last month, with a message-displaying special edition under consideration. NordEast also distributes Polestar here.

Spotlight runs from 17 to 20 September at Studio 230, Ponsonby. The images go online at zeekrbytaika.com from 21 September.