Culture
You could be whatever you wanted to be
It was the twilight of the Age of Aquarius.
Passionately held 1960s beliefs like Peace, Freedom, Equality, People Power, Expanded Consciousness, Eastern Religion and Free Love… all went out the window. To be replaced with what? Excuses?…
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There are currently 175 photographs in this section.
Racquet Kultur
Watch, cheer, drink, boo, belch, repeat
Display Court #3 outside the Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne Tennis Centre [Apr-2019 309KB]
Contraindications
All the bright lights could not conceal the darkness
Luna Park Friday night rides [Jan-2019 443KB]
The Great White Fleet
Every Wednesday afternoon we would close our practice early to go down to the harbour and potter about in yachts
Sydney harbour boats and ferries [Oct-2014 466KB]
Release the bats
Canned music, caterwauling karaoke & wall–to–wall poker–machines
Nick Cave from The Birthday Party at Sydney University Refectory [Jan-1982 310KB]
Go hard or go home
The more we studied history, the more we realised social decline was nothing new
“Harbour Sands” at Darling Harbour [Jan-2017 600KB]
Laps around the sun
We left the concert ages ago but her bomb of a car wouldn't start; Some bloke eventually gave us a jump–start, but he glanced so often at her lycra sleeveless turtleneck that she had to fold her arms (and whisper to me Next time remind me to wear a burqa…
); Finally we're moving through a late winter night, although she insisted on driving with all the windows down; Pull in to a service station to refuel and buy a large bottle of engine oil (?!); Arrive at her student–share terrace and climb the narrow interior stairs; Our quiet voices in her 3×3¾m room; Posters, milk–crate furniture, a rolling clothes rack, cigarettes, photocopied course–materials and a hot water bottle on her unmade bed; Shove aside a fortnight of clothes to sit together on a Mexican rug on the wooden floor; A cone of smoky light radiates from the ceiling; Her mechanical alarm–clock ticks on a nightstand; Why am I here? Because my current boyfriend prefers to spend his time swinging on a tyre rope!
Fingers through asymmetrically cropped hair; Wipe clean her red–framed glasses and she beams with delight; Her round face and large brown eyes; Gentle teasing about her bourgeois diamond ear–studs; The faintest wisp of a moustache; The axillary hair stubble; Unzip her jeans and peel off the sleeveless top; The fine black hairs on her lower back and abdomen; The perfume in surprising places; Her laugh; Her voice; Her curves; Her smell, and mouth, and warmth; Her icy cold feet; Her surprisingly small cot
Turning circle (since repainted) outside Central Station, Sydney [Mar-2019 763KB]
Remarks
Without the Roaring Twenties
The green light at the end of the dock remained forever out of reach
Bradleys Head lighthouse [Aug-2023 236KB]
Advocacy before Authenticity
Passing the Bechdel Test with flying colours
Insta–friendly attraction at the 2024 Sydney Biennale at White Bay Power Station [Mar-2024 342KB]
Together alone
We loved each other like it was the end of the world
Cockle Bay promenade, Darling Harbour [Dec-2003 409KB]
Opting away from the patriarchy
When this is all over, gender studies professors are going to have a hell of time teaching students about this moment in history
(Valenti, 2017)
Supplement Warehouse on Sunnyholt Road, Blacktown [Aug-2015 208KB]
Suburban psychodrama
Our belief in a better tomorrow was expressed through our architecture
Front yard gate, Great Western Highway [May-2019 281KB]
Driving home for Christmas
Childhood holidays strapped into the back–seat of a car
Christmas display, Centrepoint Sydney [Dec-2019 305KB]
Forever wars
For decades we believed it was peace for our time
“To Poseidon” sculpture by Xia Hang, at the Australian National Maritime Museum [Apr-2019 389KB]
Cordon sanitaire
We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.
(EIIR, 2020)
Bollards at Warrimoo [Oct-2019 499KB]
A fit country for heroes to live in
With a place for everyone and everyone in their place
Unhoused on Pitt Street Mall, Sydney [May-2016 478KB]
Remarks
Without bias or agenda
Journalism is the pursuit of verifiable truth — it's an existential fight against conspiracy theories, fake news, voluble opinions, false balance, online bandwagons & talking points; against activists who claim to be in the truth business, but are actually in the point–of–view business
(The Guardian, 2018)
State of Origin victory celebration for the NSW Blues at the Northern Broad–walk, Sydney Opera House [Jul-2014 262KB]
Capitalist idyll
Forget about Marx or Lennon or Hayek or Friedman–Phelps: The Colonel saw, the Colonel knew, the Colonel understood
Fast–food franchise hoarding at Parramatta Road, Five Dock [Sep-2016 154KB]
Malpractice with impunity
The very first document, among more than a hundred in this folder, is a signed declaration by our client that he mixed up his patients and accidentally performed a full hysterectomy on the 36–year–old plaintiff. Correction — our client is [redacted], not the surgeon, who is merely a policy holder of our client.
Thanks. The surgeon admits, in writing, that he sterilised the plaintiff by doing an unauthorised procedure. This is undisputed — so why is this matter dragging on for years with boilerplate requests for interrogatories, updated medical reports and dozens of discovery hearings? Well, it is our firm's policy to comprehensively test all claims to discourage frivolous ones.
The plaintiff was harmed, the surgeon admitted negligence, so it cannot be “frivolous” and, frankly, our deliberate stalling borders upon unconscionable. I'll say it again: it is our firm's policy to test all claims to discourage frivolous ones…
The ghosts of lawyering among the tombstones at Camperdown cemetery, Newtown [Jun-2015 413KB]
Remarks
A modest proposal
Advocates insisted the choice was morally obvious. 9.4M voters disagreed
2023 Referendum placards, at Surry Hills & Darlington [Sep-2023 265KB]
There was always someone for everyone
Eugenics through involuntary abstinence
Bollards at the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay [Oct-2013 594KB]
Swans victory parade
Winning the AFL premiership was the most important thing
Victory parade aftermath outside the QVB, Sydney [Sep-2005 410KB]
A fortress of your art
Few noticed the post–modern irony of appropriating the design of the Naval Range–finding Tower MP–3 at Pleinmont
Solomon R Guggenheim museum, NYC [Oct-2017 167KB]
Brett's armchair
The same music in completely different hands
Room 82 on the sixteenth floor, Harbourside Apartments [Jan-2019 295KB]
Remarks
I could have drunk a river
A couple of schooners, a case of Smirnoff Ice Double Black vodka, a few more shots at the Dragon Lounge, and I was yours
Abandoned refreshments near Gas Lane, in Millers Point [Jan-2014 396KB]
The great distraction
Society pressured people not to see, hear or speak about the elephant in the room
(SciAM, 2024)
Golden living statue, Circular Quay Sydney [Jun-2024 445KB]
Subterranean homesick blues
You didn't need a Snellen chart to see what was coming
Optometrist window display, Wilson Street Newtown [Jun-2023 287KB]
Remarks
Magnificent isolation
The doorbell legit scares me now. I jump every time. It just seems so aggressive when you could just SMS
(WSJ, 2017)
Young Street terrace doorway (since repainted) at Annandale [Sep-2015 531KB]
Punching down
In a changing world and with the best intentions, it wasn't enough to use progressive argument to challenge expressions of racism, homophobia, sexism and misogyny. You had to prevent people from thinking racist, homophobic, sexist and misogynistic thoughts in the first place
Bruce Lee statue prior to unveiling at the Kogarah Town Centre [Mar-2011 217KB]
Bench blanket bingo
Cover, cloak, cape, napkin, camouflage, shroud
Coalcliff station platform, South Coast NSW [Apr-2012 421KB]
The Goombas are dancing again
The partisan audience stood and yelled abuse at the stage and each other; The orchestra kept playing under the direction of its disengaged conductor; In the wings the choreographer shouted numerical prompts at the lurching & stomping performers; The impresario smiled and flicked the house lights on and off; The composer retreated backstage in bewilderment and disgust… And a few astute observers discerned hints of global disasters yet to come
Egan Street terrace, Newtown [Nov-2022 435KB]
Follow your geodesic
Take another selfie and move on, criss–cross the planet to only find yourself
Posing tourists at Sydney Cove [Aug-2014 257KB]
Remarks
Living in a short here
It was taken for granted that we would live long productive lives
AGNSW volunteer guide, Sydney [Jul-2022 308KB]
Staying on message
Sectarian quarrelling went on for so long that it etched itself into the landscape
Christian proselytising at Belmore Park (since removed), near Central station [Apr-2016 614KB]
Forerunning the Great Stagnation
Before the 1990s, every decade had its own fashion and distinctive sense of style
The Krystyna Campbell–Pretty Fashion Gift, NGV Melbourne [Apr-2019 164KB]
The efficiency dividend playbook
Exceptional merit deserved exceptional rewards
Darling Point ferry wharf, Sydney [Jan-2017 250KB]
Remarks
A story of the margins
Park your car in the gutted remains of where people once earned a living
Ex–Arnotts biscuit factory car park at North Strathfield [Jun-2017 458KB]
Carpetbaggers everywhere
Oh, the neighbourhood? Well that's outside! She laughed
(Eno, 1996)
Rug World shop–front, Parramatta Road Auburn [May-2017 544KB]
Significant Form
From the poop–deck of a Dreadnought to the lighthouse on the banks of the River Ouse, bunga–bunga until the last light fades
Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse, ANMM Darling Harbour Sydney [Nov-2021 266KB]
Sliding toward the Khilafah
Remember, do not stop shooting even if u see women or kids — no mercy is Rule One
(Haroon, 2016)
Lindt Café siege flower memorial at Martin Place, Sydney [Dec-2014 494KB]
Mr. Robot says “Hi”
The Dark Army aligned with the top 1% of the top 1% to dim the lights in a Stage 2 America
US Armed Forces recruiting station, Times Square NYC [Oct-2017 212KB]
Embracing kodokushi
Apartments were designed to address the emotional needs of their occupants
Circa Residences, Burwood's nostalgic salute to a 1975 episode of The Goodies [May-2024 286KB]
The post–industrial well–being complex
A lifetime of small authentic moments, where we honoured our feelings, encouraged mindfulness, feasted from the whole pantry, applied exacting combinations of essential oils, aligned our vibrational energy, embraced our expansion, cultivated cheerfulness and followed our bliss down the path to soulistic wellness
Sydney Olympic Park RSPCA stall [May-2018 288KB]
Did but see her passing by
A well–dressed couple go for a stroll after the Commonwealth Day Observance at St Andrew's Cathedral
EIIR and Prime Minister Howard at Town Hall, during the 2006 Royal Visit [Mar-2006 335KB]
Murder on the dance floor
The Enlightenment turned out to be little more than flashing lights in a discotheque
Queen Victoria Building “disco” Christmas lights, Sydney [Oct-2020 304KB]
Fête Moderne
It took a long time to shrug off the Superwoman myth
W–H portfolio session, Hurstville [Jun-1991 337KB]
Remarks
Community standards
Our suburbs were strewn with eye–popping enticements from agile entrepreneurs
Dulwich Hill skate park [Sep-2015 87KB]
Remarks
Revisiting the Heavenly Kingdom
Exploring the space which divides contemporary art from its viewers
Projected art installation at the 2024 Sydney Biennale at White Bay Power Station [Mar-2024 200KB]
Grand theft generations
Any attempt to blame us for the relentless impoverishment and betrayal of future generations is unfair, lazy and wrong
Jacksons Landing at Pyrmont in Sydney [Jan-2013 141KB]
Nothing's gonna change my world
Imagine no Holden Morrisey Caulfield
Strawberry Fields Imagine mosaic, Central Park NYC [Oct-2017 515KB]
Remarks
90% misdirection
Productivity was enhanced via use of mass–produced images of sex symbols
Workbench at the Pottery Estate, Lithgow [Jun-2019 454KB]
Fine–Dining Industrial Complex
The only way to achieve a true sense of purpose was by being seen in a hatted restaurant eating a pile of fat prawns with your toes exposed
Restaurant exhaust stacks, Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal [Jan-2019 122KB]
Allow plenty of extra travel time
Spatially mismatched cities where amenity, employment and education were deliberately centralised, forcing essential workers to commute for hours from the urban fringe
Trains on the T1 Western Line pass through Burwood Station [Apr-2015 230KB]
Retrofitting diversity
From Apartheid
to Black Lives Matter
in only one generation
Bent Street, Lithgow. [Apr-2012 400KB]
The one with the best notes wins
Half–step bends to voice for the next chord
Guitar seller, Winter Magic festival at Katoomba [Jun-2019 366KB]
The shadow of November 1989
The Atlantic–centred Cold War order unravelled as soon as the Wall came down
Council kerbside clean–up, Darling Point [Jan-2017 442KB]
Teachable moments
At a time when issues of decolonisation and anti–racism were critically important, gallerists & curators taught us the moral imperative of correcting historical wrongs by celebrating blakness
Adrián Villar Rojas' “The End of Imagination”, AGNSW [Dec-2022 80KB]
Remarks
403 Forbidden
It became necessary to destroy Justice in order to save the Legal System
Having a legal system with humanitarian principles will sometimes produce difficult results. Pursuant to s.8(e) of the NSW Court Suppression and Non–publication Orders Act 2010, along with the strict confidentiality provisions under s.462 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW), the purpose(s), if any, of including this scene in this project cannot be disclosed for legal reasons. [Sep-2014 106KB]
摆 烂
By using Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era
, the Central Committee of the CCP reshaped the Motherland into a wise, benevolent and evergrande superpower, who was a positive force for good across the world
St Collins Lane upstairs food court, Melbourne [Apr-2019 403KB]
Direct instruction
Expert guidance, along with detailed interpretive panels, ensured Art was enjoyed properly
AGNSW tour guide, Sydney [Mar-2019 182KB]
Looking back
Let silent contemplation be your offering
Hall of Memory, Anzac Memorial Sydney [Apr-2023 266KB]
Null pointers
Always remember who you were and what you fought for
Castlereagh Hotel Remembrance Shrine, Sydney [Jan-2019 185KB]
The Law of Conservation of Sport
If bread ↓ then circus ↑
Footy supporters watch their team lose at Panthers Park [Jul-2003 440KB]
The big day
The bent–knee proposal in a fast–food restaurant; The princess–cut engagement ring; The lovely sangeet–inspired rehearsal dinner; The effortlessly stylish top–knot bun extension; The fake–tan; The lip augmentation injections; The adorable ivory patent leather classic ballerina flats; The bridesmaids' hair extensions & wrist corsages & hand–printed yellow kaftans & daisy crowns & frangipani espadrilles; The trending blood–red gel nail–extensions; The stunning $20k bespoke wedding dress; The delicious hand–selected vegetables picked from the chateau gardens; The awesome Ottolenghi–style vegetarian feasts with steaming pork bao; The hand–cut white peonies; The polka–dotted ribbon for the mason jars; The bubble cyclone machines; The Disney love songs; The rhinestone encrusted complimentary selfie sticks; The juggling flower–girl triplets; The wow–factor troupe of wedding drummers; The pack of ninja wedding paparazzi; The PolAir hovering above the reception; The flashing LED hula–hoops to get the guests dancing; The surprise flash–mob doing a gorgeous TikTok™ dance; The last–minute bridesmaid replacements; The honour–guard of kids from previous marriages; The Labradoodle ring–bearer; The two dozen pure white doves for the magazine–worthy gluten–free celebration cake… But best of all, what about the hot pink ride!…
Wedding–hire 14–seat H2 Stretch Hummer at Luna Park, Milsons Point [Oct-2014 248KB]
F2F heroes
Who was the faker and who was the fake?
Madame Tussauds Sydney, Darling Harbour [Jan-2019 115KB]
Carnival ride
As we grew older, we craved the luxurious pampering and splendour that only floating Xanadus could provide
Majestic Princess cruise-ship, Circular Quay [Jan-2020 242KB]
Cultural aftershocks
The impact of the 911 terrorist attacks reverberated across all cultures and religions
911 Memorial park and museum, NYC [Oct-2017 301KB]
After the siren
11 touches, 5 tackles, 3 clearances and 1 goal. Controlling, Non–controlling, Boundary & Goal umpires. Yes! Go! Kick! Woohoo! Run! Stop! Mark! No! What?! Miss! Booo!
Exit Gate 3 ten minutes before the final siren. Shoving and yelling at Jolimont–MCG station. Front page, back page and 24–pages of pure footy analysis
Melbourne vs St Kilda AFL game, MCG Melbourne [Apr-2019 514KB]
Break with the past
Artefacts of violence for a new millennium
The remains of the North Tower transmission mast at the 911 Memorial Museum [Oct-2017 490KB]
Faith over fear
It became apparent that Organised Religion wasn't
Greek Orthodox church on Belgrave Street, Kogarah [Oct-2013 345KB]
Gone a million
The rich were always with us
Abandoned Rolls–Royce at Hiles Street in Alexandria [Jun-2015 320KB]
Remarks
Red lights all the way
Yet another branded installation among all the others
Campari Bar at the 2024 Sydney Biennale at White Bay Power Station [Mar-2024 293KB]
Magic sponge
During mass at our spiritual home in St. Bernardino, the archreferee would hold aloft the Sacred Sphere and bestow upon us His most holy blessing: Kind friends, VVIPs, Ultras and Hottest–WAGs, we are gathered here on St. Totteringham's Day to drink beers and throw flares, upon this, our most hallowed turf. To soar heavenward upon Mexican Waves while singing “Sweet Caroline”. To give 110% when sports–washing the unsaved. To throw sardines into the sea from the back of a trawler. To find the back of the net, a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God. For winners forever win big, and losers must fall hard. So please take a knee, wrap your Keffiyeh tight and raise your Vuvuzelas for the national benediction: Our Footy, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy game. Thy Kingdom score, thy bets be more, on phones as it is in Qatar. In nomine Blatter, et FIFA, et Spiritus Alea… You may now invade the pitch
Sports promotion at Olympic Park [Aug-2017 244KB]
Remarks
All those moments
If only we had off–world colonies for a chance to begin again
Times Square, NYC [Oct-2017 380KB]
We two formed a multitude
The first time we saw each other has not been forgotten
Abandoned shopping trolleys at Shoreline Drive in Rhodes [Dec-2015 402KB]
Strategic Hamlet
I could be bound in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space
(Shakespeare, 1603)
Wharf Terrace disabled–access elevator at Lincoln Crescent in Woolloomooloo [Jan-2012 179KB]
Race Day chic
Ladies in the public enclosure would enjoy themselves during the Cup aftermath
Rosehill Racecourse, Melbourne Cup hairdresser's picnic [Nov-2005 307KB]
Remarks
In a cage of gold
Most binding financial agreements were happy ever after
Australia's richest street, Wolseley Road Point Piper [Sep-2012 289KB]
The Wall is the Wall
Busking opposite Sydney Town Hall [Jan-2018 295KB]
By this sign thou shalt conquer
Your dead loved one is communicating with us, so please go to the bank and send money to the Church so your loved one can ascend to heaven in the spirit world
South Head General Cemetery, Vaucluse [Nov-2016 159KB]
Клином the revolution
Despite a century of recreational activism, the Whites were not beaten by the Red Wedge
Mega mall at Auburn [May-2017 96KB]
Expansionary austerity
Signs of recovery were hard to discern
Bird cages outside the China Lane restaurant, Angel Place Sydney [Oct-2013 299KB]
Molecular resonance
Free markets guaranteed an abundant reservoir of identical products and services
Nike Savas installation at Macquarie Centre, Sydney [Dec-2017 447KB]
Cultural attrition
Civility could not last forever in a vacuum
Wall graffito on a Pitt Street Lane wall (subsequently demolished), near Town Hall [Oct-2012 439KB]
Deus Vult
It wasn't every day you saw a church vandalised
St Stephens Anglican Church, Penrith [Jun-2022 333KB]
Once I built a railroad
Delayed due to an operational issue
… Postponed due to a train requiring mechanical repairs
… Blue Mountains rail services have been suspended until further notice due to a freight train derailment at Linden
… No trains this weekend due to scheduled track–work
… Cancelled due to a staff availability issue
… Late due to mechanical problems earlier on
… Running late and out of timetable order
… Transport authorities have urged passengers allow plenty of extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates as stopping patterns may change at short notice
… This service has been cancelled due to an electrical fault, passengers should disembark and transfer to the suburban service waiting at platform four
… Running late due to a person causing a disturbance at Central
… Passengers be advised that we are proceeding slowly due to some track failures, and if we make it through the next signal then we should be right to proceed
… No trains this weekend due to scheduled track–work
… Rail services have been suspended until further notice due to a landslip near Leura
… Cancelled due to a vehicle on the tracks at Faulconbridge
… Delays as a result of a number of unexpected incidents including a tree falling onto the tracks between St Leonards and Wollstonecraft, and a fire to sleepers at North Strathfield
… All services have been cancelled this week due to protected industrial action
… This train will terminate at Strathfield due to a passenger requiring medical assistance. All passengers for Central should disembark and transfer to a suburban service on platform five
… There may be a short delay at Penrith while the rear carriage is checked for possible contamination
… Delayed due to temporary speed restrictions caused by wet weather conditions
… Westbound train services have been suspended indefinitely due to an incident at Burwood requiring emergency services
… Running late due to vandalism at Blacktown earlier
… Running late due to severe weather damaging equipment at Milsons Point and North Sydney
… Delayed due to an issue with a freight train at St Marys earlier
… We apologise for the delay at Penrith due to kids with bikes on and around the tracks
… No trains this weekend due to scheduled track–work
… Trains have been suspended between Lawson and Penrith due to a tree on the tracks near Linden
… Delayed by approximately 41 minutes due a person threatening self–harm at Lithgow
… Postponed due to urgent power supply repairs
… Cancelled due to urgent train repairs at Mt Victoria — we are currently in the process of bringing in a replacement train from Katoomba to form a city bound service
… Cancelled due to lightning strike at Penrith
… Running 27 minutes late due to a tree caught in the overhead wiring at Blaxland
… Blue Mountains rail services have been suspended until further notice due to a landslip near Emu Plains
… 35 minutes late due to passenger with a medical emergency
… Other incidents including multiple self–harm attempts and trespassers on the tracks at Doonside and Bellambi
… Delayed due to a police operation at Ashfield
… No trains this weekend due to scheduled track–work
… Major delays on all lines due to a fatality at Mortdale
… Please consider postponing your journey or using alternative transport
…
Macdonaldtown rail viaduct (since rebuilt) [Mar-1983 536KB]
Psychophysical conundrums
Why did the pigeon cross the road?… Because it believed it was a chicken. In which case, why did the chicken cross the road?… Because it was neither a “chicken” nor a “road”
Sydenham pedestrian crossing [May-2023 779KB]
Poly–dimensional facets
GDP versus infrastructure versus ecology versus quality–of–life versus unconstrained population growth
Darling Harbour under the express-way, Sydney [Apr-2017 274KB]
Cameo soulmate
Forget drinks after work, she said, and come straight to her new house; Greetings at the door with a smile, damp hair and a Simpsons T–shirt; She grabs my hand and shows me around, then orders her hostile mother to leave; We finally agree to dine out; The golden light fades while walking up Rae Street; Her fingers gleam with unexpected rings; Expedient tales of a stateless childhood seeking a better life; So elope fast, live well and tick all the boxes she said; And other practical things
Project Halo at Central Park in Sydney [Nov-2022 340KB]
A few personal blow–outs
Success, power, glamour, excuses, misstatements, lies
Corner of Pine and Cleveland, near Central [Jul-2017 352KB]
Heroes of Social Progress
Canonical ideals of liberalism, openness, cultural diversity, safe routes to asylum, genuine compassion for society's most vulnerable, celebrating difference, counter–racism, sensitivity training, positive discrimination, calling–out culturally unsafe practices, behaviour–change programs, open borders, undocumented migration, watch–lists, drug–kingpins, lone–wolves, slogan–painted tents, quarantine camps, hospital ships, sovereign–citizens, capital city riots, failed states, resurgent right–wing authoritarianism
Confetti remnants of the 2012 Swans AFL team Victory Parade [Oct-2012 553KB]
Keeping the Sixties alive
Escape from post WWII Europe; The promise to a dead brother; The memory of a beloved wife; Shelves with empty chocolate boxes and soda bottles; The customers who only came to stare
Olympia milk–bar & hair salon at Parramatta Road, Annandale. Permanently closed by council order in April 2019 and auctioned for redevelopment in 2023 [Jul-2016 473KB]
Az Édes Élet
Between flavoursome mouthfuls, we would chat for hours about fusion & hats & comforting & charcuterie & amuse–bouches & soupçons & palette & texture & aroma & bon vivants & sommeliers & chef de cuisines & luscious celebrations & line worthy & quotidian delights & gastronomic visions & signature–dishes & heirloom–recipes & best meltiest cheese & a whole new dimension in crunch … and all the countless things we loved or didn't love to ingest
The Acland Cake Shop window display, St Kilda Melbourne [Apr-2019 405KB]
Points of light
Remember, remember the eleventh of November
Shrine of Remembrance, 11AM beam of light [Apr-2019 374KB]
Contumacious determination
Faithful servants of the court had a duty to finesse reality until outcomes matched expectations
Addison Road community centre, Marrickville [Sep-2012 191KB]
National days past
Australia Day on January 26th used to be a day of patriotism, community and celebration (The Guardian, 2024)
In 2005, one of the many flag sellers in Hyde Park Sydney [Jan-2005 229KB]
How did we ever get here?
A ceaseless concrete mausoleum, seen through windscreens smeared with despair
Ventilation funnels atop the Kogarah Railway Station car–park [Apr-2011 68KB]
Fighting for peace
The common purpose of every action was “security”
The crypt beneath the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne [Apr-2019 207KB]
Waiting for the V–shaped recovery
It took nearly a century to progress from sound fundamentals
and prosperity around the corner
to bouncing back
and primed for lift–off next year
Broadway bus–stop beggar, Central [Jan-2020 100KB]
Redefining perfection
You press the button, we do the rest
(Eastman, 1888)
Laurie Daley and fans at SOH [Jul-2014 336KB]
Mission statement
We auctioned the Glory of the coming of the Lord
A de–consecrated Anglican church at Warrimoo, in the Blue Mountains [Jul-2011 162KB]
Crucify your mind
I really thought that love would save us all
(Lennon, 1980)
The exterior of the Greek Orthodox church of Saint Peter & Paul (since repainted), at Petersham [Sep-2012 404KB]
Remarks
Dialectical virtuousness
A vanguard of activists, academics, experts and news–workers decided it was their sworn duty to reform everyone else's morals
Rainbow house, Stanmore [Nov-2017 369KB]
Smile Peace Love
Hugs & bonhomie were the solution to all our problems
Sandwich board activist Danny Lim at George Street, Town Hall [Jul-2024 312KB]
One–way journey
On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place
(Yes, 1971)
Ovation of the Seas cruise-ship at the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal [Dec-2017 158KB]
Remarks
Let the children play
The Law Council of Australia issued a statement on Friday saying judicial immunity was “intrinsically related” to the independence of judges and their ability to fearlessly make decisions according to the law
Skippy Girls mural, Wilson Street Darlington [May-2022 319KB]
It was just a jump to the left
Everyone assumed an informed liberal democracy would sweep the world
Pedestrian passageway at Potts Point [Dec-2015 541KB]
The tallest tombstones in the world
Arithmétique Macabre: 9/11 = 2977 + 18 462
Church spire beneath a flight path, at Rockdale in Sydney [Dec-2013 111KB]
Remarks
Free at last
Your mega–mortgage turned out to be a perfect forced–savings vehicle
Victoria Street terrace, Kings Cross [Jul-2018 374KB]
Congratulations Mrs Nassif… you like?
There are many creditors and law enforcement agencies that are keen to speak to Mr Nassif. I would encourage him to make himself available to investigators in NSW so that we can find out exactly what he's done in this state and what his potential liabilities are
(ABC News, 2023)
Banana-yellow Lamborghini at Paddington [Apr-2017 169KB]
Together at last
A journey of six thousand, seven hundred and twenty–five days began with a single step
Newly–weds at Grand Central Station, NYC [Oct-2017 257KB]
Electric evanescence
People would happily sing while hurling five–kilogram spheres
Strike Bowling, King Street Wharf Darling Harbour [Jan-2019 146KB]
Our plates in heaven
Meet the new religion, same as the old religion
Chefs' Warehouse in the “old Tongan Church”, Regent Street Redfern [Jul-2023 304KB]
Latter–day Bloomsbury
We've ended up with an inner–city hive of woke workers, hiring woke friends to do their woke work in their quest to “wokify” the world
(Senator J.McGrath, 2021)
Freethought Book Exchange (since demolished) at Regent Street Chippendale [Apr-2014 380KB]
Empire of the self
Bring distant points of interest within close range by the use of this machine
Empire State Building observation deck, NYC [Oct-2017 434KB]
Open borders made us vibrant
Migrants [were] integral members of Australian society, not just economic units to be managed
(ABC News, 2024)
Signs in Burwood's Chinatown [May-2024 371KB]
Every city another Venice
From aquarium to fish–soup in one generation
Tourists at the McMahon Point ferry wharf, Sydney [Jan-2019 251KB]
Tutelary architects of the soul
United by a shared vision of a progressive future, our beliefs were grounded in truth, science and fundamental human rights
An air–filled waver during the Sydney Swans AFL team celebrations, at Sydney Town Hall [Oct-2012 216KB]
Haute couture
The entire fashion industry was trickle–down in its purest form
Step into Paradise Exhibition at Powerhouse Museum, Sydney [Jan-2020 444KB]
Unleash your inner daemon
Pets lifted our spirits and reminded us of who we really were
On the Parramatta ferry to Abbotsford [Mar-2015 320KB]
Discrimination positive
Everyone agreed that a person's worth could only be determined by the number of their X–chromosomes
Extended phenotypes at Addison Road in Marrickville [Sep-2012 264KB]
Freedom behind the wheel
To stream down packed motorways, clutching tickets to the road–trauma lottery
Tyre burn–outs in an abandoned housing development at Faulconbridge, in the Blue Mountains [Dec-2012 699KB]
Lambos to the moon
It was an era of unending optimism, where vast fortunes were made without any effort. When cashed–up families prospered, inflation was beaten (until 2022) and credit was easy at near–zero rates (until 2022). When average mums & dads became CEOs, collected NFTs (until 2023), leased out short–term rentals and bet hard on cryptocurrencies. When stock markets kept rising to record heights, and house values ballooned to what looked like a permanently high plateau…
Living statue performer at Circular Quay [Jul-2017 348KB]
Remarks
Back to the beach
All thoughts eventually led to the sea
Surf carnival surf–skis, Manly beach [Jan-2021 303KB]
Underlying conditions
Health interests needed to be balanced with protecting the economy. It was accomplished by altering a few epidemiological definitions, statistically rationalising deaths and shifting the emphasis to personal responsibility
The Masked Passenger, near Glenbrook [Jan-2020 221KB]
Trouble in Luvvyland
Decades of progressive instruction about positive social change struggled to achieve the desired outcome
Apartment building at the top of View Street, Dunedin NZ [Nov-2017 487KB]
Electric tribalism
Everyone wandered around with no idea what was about to happen
Preparations for the 2019 Australia Day celebrations, Campbells Cove Sydney [Jan-2019 325KB]
Full Meta jacket
Despite the wide–ranging use of significant, robust and holistic evidence — the Epistemological Reflection upon the Manichaean Nature of Post–Analytical Nihilistic Communitarianism was spoiled by unhelpfully self–referential endnotes
Infinite regression at Croydon [Sep-2016 105KB]
In the thrall of Schedule 8
A considerable number of people spent their lives up the Cross
Fitzroy Gardens in Kings Cross [May-2003 438KB]
Remarks
Survival of the richest
Our remaining days were spent counting our passive income, in the comfort and safety of our survivalist–bunkers
Australia's richest street, Wolseley Road Point Piper [Sep-2012 322KB]
Fungible ideology
It took little effort to transition from “SJW” to “WSJ”
Fearless Girl statue, NYC [Oct-2017 350KB]
All the comforts
A time of plenty when even the humblest could afford the finer things
Vagrant bedding at St James Station, Sydney CBD [Sep-2023 455KB]
Boxing day specials
Our cities were gradually fortified, one concrete block at a time
Anti vehicle–ramming barriers at George Street, Sydney [Dec-2017 202KB]
Zero–day vulnerability
Novel Sars–CoV–2 began to spread across the globe at the end of 2019. Millions died, economies contracted and civic life became a meandering series of lockdowns
Balaclava sculpture (since removed) at the Newtown Tram Depot [Jul-2019 674KB]
Aloha Oe
Our way of life faded right before our eyes
Pasifika themed vintage car, High Street Penrith [Mar-2018 447KB]
Lotus, Porsha & Mersaydees
Part of Bogan Pride was to give your children homophonous names of brands you hoped they would steal
Excavation of an ex–service station at Bullaburra in the Blue Mountains [Feb-2011 450KB]
Life under the occupation
The Fragmented was turned into the Harmonised by encouraging our staff to compile their own dossiers
Revolving doors at the ANZ bank building, in Castlereagh Street [Aug-2014 182KB]
Remarks
Ever present eyes
A watchful environment loaded with photographers to record your every moment
Anzac Day photographers, Park Street Sydney [Apr-2018 269KB]
Sumptuary Laws revisited
Raised heels for the elite, scuffed flats for everyone else
Shoe boutique window display, QVB Sydney [Apr-2023 343KB]
Discover your authentic self
The best we could hope for was to become someone's pet
Town Hall arcade begging, Sydney [Jul-2015 405KB]
Window dressing
The “glass cliff” was a convenient way to disregard systemic corporate dysfunction
Office building window–washers, Martin Place [Sep-2023 347KB]
Lamp beside the golden door
During a time of global mass migration, decades of multiculturalism enriched by diversity turned out to be an unqualified success (Turnbull, 2017)
St Pauls Cathedral congregation after Good Friday service, Melbourne [Apr-2019 276KB]
Rainbow connection
Everyone had a moral duty to embrace love, freedom, vigilance and revolutionary justice
Same–sex Marriage Law Postal Survey posters outside the Imperial Hotel at Erskineville [Sep-2017 323KB]
Everything was fine
We married our passion for the authentic interpretation of regional Spanish cuisine with a desire to celebrate the high quality fresh produce supplied by a close network of artisanal farmers
Ash Street restaurant, Sydney CBD [Jan-2019 182KB]
The sun always shines on the Supreme Leader
The inspection of State Food Processing Plant #2193 inspired genuine patriots to dance and brandish flowers
Fast–food franchise at Old Canterbury Road, Hurlstone Park [Oct-2015 205KB]
Thought showers
To proactively incentivise our key stakeholders, we touched base, actioned our settings, got all our ducks in a row and strategically up–levelled our synergies to facilitate a win–win paradigm
The repurposed cauldron from the best Olympic Games ever [Aug-2017 437KB]
Dolchstoßlegende
Historical data was of little use to a society which always looked forward
Photography at Observatory Hill, Sydney [Jan-2020 744KB]
Eat fresh
Marketeers tapped into a growing personalisation potential and famous craves
Upstairs food–court, Centrepoint Sydney [Dec-2019 82KB]
Defence renaissance
After decades of cutbacks, drawdowns and ceaseless criticism from keyboard–warriors, governments had to renew defence spending when a new series of proxy–wars broke out
Anzac Day Air Force personnel, Hyde Park Sydney [Apr-2023 233KB]
Remarks
Windows on the world
The Twin Towers loomed over everything
HMAS Vampire pendant number & anchor, Australian National Maritime Museum [May-2023 172KB]
Operational Matters
VIP Lounges, lotteries, pokies, meat–trays & linked EFTPOS accounts
Behind the Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, Dunedin NZ [Nov-2017 211KB]
True deliverance make
Be sure your sins will find you out
Clothesline posts at Millers Point [Aug-2016 301KB]
Put the person before the disability
Inclusiveness meant telling everyone how much you cared
Beneath the Western Distributor on Harris Street in Ultimo [Jan-2013 282KB]
A new world order
The social contract had to be amended to quadruple the number of billionaires
Torn up posters on Parramatta Road, Strathfield [Jul-2014 419KB]
Logic had nothing to do with oppression
Egalitarian architecture at Wunulla Road in Point Piper [Sep-2012 244KB]
Spatial determinism
What you ate was determined by where you cooked
16th floor kitchen at Harbourside Apartments versus HMAS Vampire galley [Nov-2021 235KB]
There be dragons
We were taught to embrace difference
Restaurant alleyway, World Square [Jul-2024 384KB]
Black hat/ white hat
Choose whichever best suits your personality
Black GMC Hummer versus white Chevrolet Corvette, Newtown [Sep-2023 327KB]
Enjoying the benefits of adequacy
Budget surpluses, rising house prices, vigorous job growth, decades of near–zero interest rates (until 2022)
Lewisham apartment redevelopment [Jul-2018 332KB]
The natural order
Developers → Banks → Speculators → Mortgagors → Tennants → Unhoused
Fairy Bower café dog bowls, Manly [Jan-2021 501KB]
This renovated life
A place where we could become our best selves by focusing on the smaller, more controllable world of Home
Darling Point renovations, Sydney [Jan-2017 399KB]
Watch and act
Irregular migration was a test of our commitment to humanity, compassion and universal human rights
The Edge at Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne [Apr-2019 246KB]
Luxury was a human right
Hollywood stars, $10K watches, begging for small–change
Wristwatch dealership, Pitt Street Mall [Sep-2023 279KB]
In the time of contagion
Green physical distancing dots will continue to guide customers on the best places to sit and stand on all modes
COVID–19 safe seating on the Double Bay ferry, Sydney [Jul-2020 479KB]
Everything was done to preserve social harmony
Our commitment to specific kinds of D.E.I. was unwavering
The waterfall entrance to the NGV, Melbourne [Apr-2019 525KB]
Remarks
Scenes from the new world
Willkommenskultur guaranteed a kaleidoscope of culinary delights
Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne [Apr-2019 111KB]
Character arc
An enormous effort was made to broaden the variety of gender roles
Sydney candid triptych [Oct-2014 296KB]
Winning the argument
The only way to achieve positive social change was by performative activism
Pro–Palestine demonstrators on George Street, Sydney CBD [Aug-2014 215KB]
Equality of opportunity
Why quibble about government spending on kid's education? It's a fact of life that wealthy parents pay more tax. So to maintain fairness in the marketplace of educational options and value parental free choice, governments must underwrite independent schools
GPS tennis courts in Stanmore [Sep-2012 254KB]
Growing pains
People were encouraged to use public transport to reduce traffic congestion
Commuters on the St Kilda tram, Melbourne [Apr-2019 194KB]
Winning at the starting line
The torch was lit and there was magic in the air. Gold! gold! gold! For brands in an unprecedented premium integration ecosystem!
Party members and strategic partners cheered. Media–workers joyfully asked each other how they felt. Our tattooed heroes puffed and strained and flexed and skipped and hopped and twisted and splashed. Writers witnessed dreams come true. We paid
The endlessly gushing fountain at Olympic Park, Sydney [Jan-2011 303KB]
Private splendour
The poorest people with the most expensive phones; the best cars on the worst roads; the smartest children in the most dilapidated schools
Luxury cars gleam in the parking space behind a Kogarah real–estate agency [Apr-2011 138KB]
Grey nomads
The Big Lap added years to our lives
Covered motorcycles on Billyard Ave, Elizabeth Bay [Dec-2015 296KB]
Beneath the iron ceiling
Social mobility was never guaranteed
Lord Sheffield Circuit at Penrith [Apr-2017 63KB]
Some semblance of community
Democracy continued to best serve the interests of those who were most invested
NSW election voting centre at Town Hall [Mar-2019 552KB]
Remarks
Foamy frappuccino in a sea of amber
Our restaurant and coffee habits were never those of an anxious nation
Empty beer kegs outside the Abercrombie Hotel at Broadway [Oct-2012 239KB]