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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Redefining perfection
You press the button, we do the rest
(Eastman, 1888)
Laurie Daley and fans at SOH [Jul-2014 288KB]
Res judicata
It wasn't every day that you saw a church vandalised
St Stephens Anglican Church, Penrith [Jun-2022 483KB]
New ways of seeing
We didn't need a Snellen chart to see what was coming
Optometrist window display, Wilson Street Newtown [Jun-2023 374KB]
Living in a short here
It was taken for granted that we would live long productive lives
AGNSW volunteer guide, Sydney [Jul-2022 295KB]
Dolchstoßlegende
Historical data was of little use to a society which always looked forward
Photography at Observatory Hill, Sydney [Jan-2020 908KB]
Race Day chic
Ladies in the public enclosure would enjoy themselves during the Cup aftermath
Rosehill Racecourse, Melbourne Cup hairdresser's picnic [Nov-2005 270KB]
Remarks
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)
Yellow Lamborghini at Paddington [Apr-2017 236KB]
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 452KB]
The well-stamped passport
Take another selfie and move on, criss-cross the planet to only find yourself
Tourists scrum at Sydney Cove [Aug-2014 165KB]
Remarks
Unleash your inner daemon
Pets lifted our spirits and reminded us of who we really were
On the Parramatta ferry to Abbotsford [Mar-2015 288KB]
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 462KB]
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 485KB]
Grey nomads
The Big Lap added years to our lives
Covered motorcycles on Billyard Ave, Elizabeth Bay [Dec-2015 288KB]
摆 烂
By using Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era
, the CCP reshaped the Motherland into a wise, benevolent and evergrande superpower
St Collins Lane upstairs food court, Melbourne [Apr-2019 416KB]
Everything was done to preserve social harmony
Our unwavering commitment to specific kinds of inclusion was immeasurable
The waterfall entrance to the NGV, Melbourne [Apr-2019 767KB]
Remarks
Suburban psychodrama
Our belief in a better tomorrow was clearly expressed through our architecture
Front yard gate, Great Western Highway [May-2019 244KB]
Nowhere was safe from Footy
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
Melbourne vs St Kilda AFL game, MCG Melbourne [Apr-2019 399KB]
Winning at the starting line
Party members and strategic partners cheered. Media-workers asked each other how they felt. Gold, gold, gold for brands in an unprecedented premium integration ecosystem.
Our tattooed heroes puffed and flexed and skipped and hopped and twisted and splashed. We paid
The endlessly gushing fountain at Olympic Park, Sydney [Jan-2011 351KB]
Significant Form
From the poop-deck of a Dreadnought to the lighthouse on the banks of the River Ouse, bunga–bunga–bunga–bunga until the light grows pale
Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse, ANMM Darling Harbour Sydney [Nov-2021 344KB]
Release the bats
Canned music, caterwauling karaoke & wall-to-wall poker-machines
Nick Cave from The Birthday Party at Sydney University Refectory [Jan-1982 77KB]
There was always someone for everyone
Eugenics through involuntary abstinence
Bollards at the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay [Oct-2013 576KB]
Woke up this morning
With their exclusive focus on representation and identity, gallerists & curators agreed that contemporary art could only appreciated in complete blackness
Adrián Villar Rojas' “The End of Imagination”, AGNSW [Dec-2022 107KB]
Remarks
A few personal blow-outs
Success, power, glamour, excuses, misstatements, lies
Corner of Pine and Cleveland, near Central [Jul-2017 295KB]
Deus lo vult
It became apparent that Organised Religion wasn't
Greek Orthodox church on Belgrave Street, Kogarah [Oct-2013 326KB]
In the thrall of Schedule 8
A considerable number of people spent their lives up the Cross
Fitzroy Gardens in Kings Cross [May-2003 418KB]
Remarks
Heroes of Social Progress
Canonical ideals of liberalism, openness, diversity, safe routes to asylum, genuine compassion for society's most vulnerable, celebrating difference, counter-racism, positive discrimination, mandatory cultural awareness, watch-lists, lone-wolves, quarantine camps, failed states, undocumented migration, empty supermarket shelves, hospital ships, sovereign-citizens, resurgent right-wing authoritarianism
Confetti remnants of the 2012 Swans AFL team Victory Parade [Oct-2012 534KB]
Contumacious determination
Faithful servants of the court had a duty to finesse reality until outcomes matched expectations
Addison Road community centre, Marrickville [Sep-2012 177KB]
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 212KB]
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, WAGs and Ultras, we are gathered here on St. Totteringham's Day to drink beers and throw flares. To give 110% when sports-washing the unsaved. To throw sardines into the sea from the back of the 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 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 188KB]
Remarks
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 450KB]
Remarks
Choosing to opt away from patriarchy
When this is all over, gender studies professors are going to have a hell of time explaining what happened
(Valenti, 2017)
Supplement Warehouse on Sunnyholt Road, Blacktown [Aug-2015 223KB]
Fête Moderne
It took a long time to shrug off the Superwoman myth
W-H portrait session, Hurstville [Jun-1991 354KB]
Redaction everywhere
It became necessary to destroy Justice in order to save the Legal System
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 93KB]
Without the Roaring Twenties
The green light at the end of Daisy's dock was still beyond reach
Bradleys Head lighthouse [Aug-2023 308KB]
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 250KB]
Fine-Dining Industrial Complex
The only way to achieve a true sense of being 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 145KB]
Survival of the richest
Our remaining days were spent counting our passive income, in the comfort and safety of our own bunkers
Australia's richest street, Wolseley Road Point Piper [Sep-2012 321KB]
Electric evanescence
People would happily sing while hurling five-kilogram spheres
Strike Bowling, King Street Wharf Darling Harbour [Jan-2019 111KB]
Mission statement
We auctioned the Glory of the coming of the Lord
What was once an Anglican church, but became an open-plan dwelling, at Warrimoo in the Blue Mountains [Jul-2011 93KB]
The sun shone 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 273KB]
Dialectical Virtuism
A vanguard of activists, academics and news-workers decided it was their moral duty to reform everyone else's morals
Rainbow house, Stanmore [Nov-2017 296KB]
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
… 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
… 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
… 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
… Running late due to vandalism at Blacktown earlier
… 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 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 484KB]
Grand theft generations
With all the cheap debt we created, Boomers could comfortably retire to gated apartments in the sky
Jacksons Landing at Pyrmont in Sydney [Jan-2013 113KB]
Клином the revolution
Despite a century of recreational activism, the Whites were not beaten by the Red Wedge
Mega mall at Auburn [May-2017 80KB]
The post-industrial well-being complex
A lifetime of small authentic moments, where we honoured our feelings, aligned our vibrational energy, feasted from the whole pantry, applied essential oils, embraced our expansion, and mindfully followed our bliss down the path to soulistic wellness
Sydney Olympic Park RSPCA stalls [May-2018 281KB]
Trouble in Luvvyland
Decades of careful instruction about hope and positive social progress failed to achieve the desired outcome
Apartment building at the top of View Street, Dunedin NZ [Nov-2017 552KB]
Electric tribalism
Wandering around with no idea what was about to happen
Preparations for the 2019 Australia Day celebrations, Campbells Cove Sydney [Jan-2019 248KB]
Racquet Kultur
Watch, cheer, drink, boo, belch, repeat
Display Court #3 outside the Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne Tennis Centre [Apr-2019 396KB]
Boxing day specials
Our cities were gradually fortified, one concrete block at a time
Anti vehicle-ramming barriers at George Street, Sydney [Dec-2017 170KB]
The natural order
Developers → Banks → Speculators → Mortgagors → Tennants → Unhoused
Fairy Bower café dog bowls, Manly [Jan-2021 728KB]
Waiting for the V-shaped recovery
It took almost 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 74KB]
Staying on message
Sectarian quarrelling went on for so long that it etched itself into the background
Christian proselytising at Belmore Park (since removed), near Central station [Apr-2016 708KB]
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 426KB]
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 330KB]
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 244KB]
Operational Matters
VIP Lounges, lotteries, pokies, meat-trays and linked EFTPOS accounts
Behind the Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, Dunedin NZ [Nov-2017 173KB]
Growing pains
People were strongly encouraged to use public transport to reduce traffic congestion
Commuters on the St Kilda tram, Melbourne [Apr-2019 245KB]
Bench blanket bingo
Cover, cloak, cape, napkin, camouflage, shroud
Coalcliff station platform, South Coast NSW [Apr-2012 398KB]
Equality of opportunity
It was obvious that wealthy parents always paid more tax. So to maintain fairness in the marketplace of educational options, everyone agreed that governments must underwrite independent schools and parental free choice
GPS tennis courts in Stanmore [Sep-2012 198KB]
Retrofitting diversity
From “Apartheid” to “Black Lives Matter” in only one generation
Bent Street, Lithgow. [Apr-2012 365KB]
The shadow of November 1989
The Atlantic-centred post-WW2 order unravelled as soon as the Wall came down
Council kerbside clean-up, Darling Point [Jan-2017 478KB]
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 436KB]
Laps around the sun
1 AM 1984; Climb the narrow stairs of her run-down shared terrace; Quiet voices in her 3×2.5 room; Milk-crate furniture and clothing-racks; Why am I here? Because my current boyfriend likes to spend most of his time swinging on a truck-tyre
; Our discarded clothes on the worn Persian mat; Above us a swirling cone of cigarette smoke beneath the ceiling light; Her retro-futurist alarm-clock ticks on a nightstand; The slow graceful movements of her hands; Her voice, her curves, her smell, her mouth, her warmth; Her impossibly small single bed; By morning we were gone
Turning circle (since repainted) outside Central Station, Sydney [Mar-2019 918KB]
The new world order
The social contract had to be positively reformed to quadruple the number of billionaires
Torn up posters on Parramatta Road, Strathfield [Jul-2014 484KB]
Sumptuary laws
The entire fashion industry was trickle-down in its purest form
Step into Paradise Exhibition at Powerhouse Museum, Sydney [Jan-2020 410KB]
Break with the past
Artefacts of violence for a new millennium
The remains of the the North Tower transmission mast at the 911 Memorial Museum [Oct-2017 443KB]
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 167KB]
Logic had nothing to do with oppression
Egalitarian architecture at Wunulla Road in Point Piper [Sep-2012 164KB]
Points of light
Remember, remember the eleventh of November
Shrine of Remembrance, 11AM beam of light [Apr-2019 379KB]
Ever present eye
A watchful environment loaded with photographers to record your every moment
Anzac Day photographers, Park Street Sydney [Apr-2018 268KB]
The Law of Conservation of Sport
If bread ↓ then circus ↑
Footy supporters watch their team lose at Panthers Park [Jul-2003 412KB]
Capitalist idyll
Forget about Marx or Lennon or Friedman-Phelps: The Colonel saw, the Colonel knew, the Colonel understood
Fast-food franchise hoarding at Parramatta Road, Five Dock [Sep-2016 161KB]
Full Meta jacket
The epistemological reflection upon the Manichaean nature of Post-Analytical Nihilistic Communitarianism was spoiled by unhelpfully self-referential endnotes — despite the liberal use of significant, robust and holistic evidence
Infinite regression at Croydon [Sep-2016 98KB]
The Goombas are dancing again
The delicious joy of randomly flailing about your limbs, more or less in time to the beat
Egan Street terrace, Newtown [Nov-2022 571KB]
Aloha Oe
Our way of life faded right before our eyes
Pasifika themed vintage car, High Street Penrith [Mar-2018 404KB]
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 488KB]
The efficiency dividend playbook
A land full of equal opportunity, where respect for property, hard work, fair-play and fiscal prudence guaranteed a prosperous life
Darling Point ferry wharf, Sydney [Jan-2017 283KB]
Remarks
All those moments
If only we had off-world colonies to go to for a chance to begin again
Times Square, NYC [Oct-2017 433KB]
Manufacturing Eros
Productivity was enhanced by using mass-produced images of completely unavailable women
Workbench at the Pottery Estate, Lithgow [Jun-2019 499KB]
Cultural attrition
Civility could not last forever in a vacuum
Wall graffito in a Pitt Street Lane near Town Hall (subsequently demolished) [Oct-2012 405KB]
Driving home for Christmas
Childhood summer holidays firmly strapped into car's back-seat
Christmas display, Centrepoint Sydney [Dec-2019 245KB]
Brett's armchair
The same music in completely different hands
Room 82 on the sixteenth floor, Harbourside Apartments [Jan-2019 419KB]
Remarks
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 137KB]
Some semblance of community
Democracy continued to best serve those who were most invested
NSW election voting centre at Town Hall [Mar-2019 543KB]
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 271KB]
Watch and act
Undocumented migration was a fundamental human right which could not be overruled by popularity contests
The Edge at Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne [Apr-2019 253KB]
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 485KB]
Thought showers
To proactively incentivise our key stakeholders, we touched base, actioned our settings, held 360-degree reviews, got all our ducks in a row and strategically uplevelled our synergies to monetise eyeballs and facilitate a win-win paradigm
The repurposed cauldron from the best Olympic Games ever [Aug-2017 659KB]
Defence renaissance
After decades of cutbacks and savings, governments renewed spending on armaments and personnel
Anzac Day Air Force personnel, Hyde Park Sydney [Apr-2023 300KB]
Remarks
Lotus, Porsha & Mersaydees
Part of Bogan Pride was to give your children homophonous names of brands you hoped one day they would steal
Excavation of an ex-service station at Bullaburra in the Blue Mountains [Feb-2011 458KB]
Null pointers
Always remember who you were and what you fought for
Castlereagh Hotel Remembrance Shrine, Sydney [Jan-2019 145KB]
The militaristic subtext
The common purpose of every action was “security”
The crypt beneath the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne [Apr-2019 164KB]
Underlying conditions
Health interests needed to be balanced with protecting the economy. It was done by altering a few epidemiological definitions, statistically rationalising deaths and shifting the emphasis to personal responsibility and resilience
The Masked Passenger, near Glenbrook [Jan-2020 160KB]
Gone a million
The rich were always with us
Abandoned Rolls-Royce automobile at Hiles Street in Alexandria [Jun-2015 289KB]
Remarks
Nothing's gonna change my world
Imagine no Holden Morrisey Caulfield
Strawberry Fields, Central Park NYC [Oct-2017 445KB]
Remarks
Cameo soulmate
Down Rae Street the golden light fades; Her fingers gleam with unexpected rings; A wandering childhood longing for a more secure life; So elope fast and live well she said; And other practical things
Project Halo at Central Park in Sydney [Nov-2022 446KB]
Winning the argument
Citizens learned that protest-theatre was the only acceptable way to achieve positive social change
Palestinian demonstrators on George Street, Sydney CBD [Aug-2014 206KB]
The big day
The bent-knee proposal in a fast-food outlet; The princess-cut engagement ring; The effortlessly stylish top-knot bun extension; The fake-tan; The lip augmentation injection; 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 wedding paparazzi; The PolAir hovering above the reception; The flashing LED hula-hoops to get the guests dancing; The surprise flash-mob doing a really 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 3m tall vegan 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 196KB]
Days of small things
Between delicious mouthfuls, we would chat for hours about fusion & aroma & degustation & star chefs & signature-dishes & heirloom-recipes & flavourful & authentic and all the countless things we loved or didn't love to ingest
Acland Cake Shop window display, St Kilda Melbourne [Apr-2019 606KB]
Allow plenty of additional travel time
Spatially mismatched cities where amenity, employment and education were intentionally centralised, forcing essential workers to commute for hours from the urban fringe
Trains on the T1 Western Line pass through Burwood Station [Apr-2015 212KB]
Expansionary austerity
Signs of recovery were hard for non-experts to discern
Bird cages outside the China Lane restaurant, at Angel Place in Sydney [Oct-2013 276KB]
This renovated life
A little slice of heaven, 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 376KB]
Mr Robot says “Hi”
The lights dimmed throughout a divided America
US Armed Forces recruiting station, Times Square NYC [Oct-2017 241KB]
Fungible ideology
It didn't require a lot of effort to pivot from “SJW” to “WSJ”
Fearless Girl statue, NYC [Oct-2017 383KB]
The Wall is the Wall
Busking opposite Sydney Town Hall [Jan-2018 338KB]
Prophetic methodology
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 529KB]
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 837KB]
Molecular resonance
Free markets guaranteed the enjoyment of identical products and services everywhere
Nike Savas installation at Macquarie Centre, Sydney [Dec-2017 610KB]
Community standards
Our suburbs were strewn with eye-popping enticements from agile entrepreneurs
Dulwich Hill skate park [Sep-2015 113KB]
Remarks
Every city another Venice
From aquarium to fish-soup in one generation
Tourists at the McMahon Point ferry wharf, Sydney [Jan-2019 263KB]
Private splendour
The poorest people with the most expensive phones; the best cars on the worst roads; the brightest children in the most dilapidated schools
Luxury cars gleam in the parking space behind a Kogarah real-estate agency [Apr-2011 109KB]
True deliverance make
Be sure your sins will find you out
Clothesline posts at Millers Point [Aug-2016 383KB]
Forerunning the Great Stagnation
Prior to the 1990s every decade had its own distinctive sense of style
The Krystyna Campbell-Pretty Fashion Gift, NGV Melbourne [Apr-2019 163KB]
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 463KB]
Remarks
Scenes from the new world
Willkommenskultur guaranteed a kaleidoscope of culinary delights
Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne [Apr-2019 106KB]
Free at last
Your mega-mortgage turned out to be a perfect forced-savings vehicle
Victoria Street terrace, Kings Cross [Jul-2018 347KB]
Vibrant 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 647KB]
Spatial determinism
Where you cooked determined what you ate
16th floor kitchen at Harbourside Apartments versus HMAS Vampire galley [Nov-2021 300KB]
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 143KB]
Remarks
Character arc
A lot of work was done to broaden the variety of gender roles
Sydney candid triptych [Oct-2014 247KB]
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 168KB]
Keeping the Sixties alive
The memory of a beloved wife, the promise to a dead brother, the customers who only came to stare
Olympia milk-bar & hair salon at Parramatta Road, Annandale. Closed by council order in April 2019 [Jul-2016 424KB]
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 420KB]
Actuate your authentic self
The best we could hope for was to become a billionaire's pet
Town Hall arcade begging, Sydney [Jul-2015 342KB]
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 308KB]
The tallest tombstones in the world
Arithmétique Macabre: 9 / 11 = 2977 + 60 000
Church spire beneath a flight path, at Rockdale in Sydney [Dec-2013 149KB]
Remarks
Lamp beside the golden door
Despite unease and criticism from parts of the community, decades of pluralist multiculturalism turned out to be surprisingly successful (Turnbull, 2017)
St Pauls Cathedral congregation after Good Friday service, Melbourne [Apr-2019 341KB]
Contraindications
All the bright lights could not conceal the gloom
Luna Park Friday night rides [Jan-2019 389KB]
F2F heroes
Who was the faker and who was the fake?
Madame Tussauds Sydney, Darling Harbour [Jan-2019 86KB]
Yellow Lambos to the moon
It was an era of unending optimism. Vast fortunes were effortlessly made. Families prospered, inflation was beaten and credit was easy at near-zero rates (until 2022). Average mums & dads became CEOs, collected NFTs and bet on cryptocurrencies. Stock markets inexorably rose, while house values appreciated to what looked like a permanently high plateau…
Living statue performer at Circular Quay [Jul-2017 253KB]
Remarks
Looking back
Let silent contemplation be your offering
Hall of Memory, Anzac Memorial Sydney [Apr-2023 354KB]
Together alone
We loved each other like it was the end of the world
Cockle Bay promenade, Darling Harbour [Dec-2003 371KB]
Cultural aftershocks
The impact of the 911 terrorist attacks reverberated for decades
911 Memorial park and museum, NYC [Oct-2017 232KB]
Beneath the iron ceiling
Social mobility was bunk guaranteed
Lord Sheffield Circuit at Penrith [Apr-2017 55KB]
Black hat/ white hat
Make a choice to suit your personality
Urban vehicle choices, Newtown [Sep-2023 441KB]
Malpractice with impunity
The very first document, among more than a hundred in this folder, is a written admission by our client that he mixed up his patients and accidentally did 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 for years with 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 surgeon has admitted negligence, so it cannot be “frivolous” and, frankly, our 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 407KB]
Remarks
“No” was unthinkable
In socially progressive suburbs, visible support for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice was surprisingly low-key
2023 Referendum placard, in Darlington [Sep-2023 396KB]
Direct instruction
Expert guidance and interpretive panels ensured Art was properly enjoyed
AGNSW tour guide, Sydney [Mar-2019 142KB]
Go hard or go home
The more we studied history, the more we realised the feeling of decline was nothing new
Harbour Sands at Darling Harbour [Jan-2017 753KB]
Back to the beach
All thoughts eventually led to the sea
Surf carnival surf-skis, Manly beach [Jan-2021 400KB]
Sumptuary Laws revisited
Raised heels for the elite, scuffed flats for everyone else
Shoe boutique window display, QVB Sydney [Apr-2023 468KB]
How did we ever get here?
An unending mausoleum of reinforced concrete, seen through windscreens smeared with doubt
Ventilation funnels atop the Kogarah Railway Station car-park [Apr-2011 41KB]
Eat fresh
Marketeers tapped into a growing personalisation potential and famous craves
Upstairs food-court, Centrepoint Sydney [Dec-2019 66KB]
A vista full of rainbows
Everyone had a moral duty to embrace love, freedom and revolutionary justice
Same-sex Marriage Law Postal Survey posters outside the Imperial Hotel at Erskineville [Sep-2017 429KB]
Post 911
The Twin Towers loomed over everything we did
HMAS Vampire pendant number & anchor, Australian National Maritime Museum [May-2023 292KB]
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 108KB]
Remarks
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 233KB]
It's just a jump to the left
Everyone was convinced that liberal democracy would sweep the world
Pedestrian passageway at Potts Point [Dec-2015 746KB]
Metaphysical conundrum
So why did the chicken cross the road?… Because it was neither a “road” or a “chicken”
Sydenham pedestrian crossing [May-2023 1089KB]
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 367KB]
By this sign thou shall 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 146KB]
Punching down
In a changing world and with the best intentions, it was not 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 189KB]
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 202KB]
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 202KB]
Carnival ride
As we grew older, we craved the splendour and luxurious pampering that only floating Xanadus could provide
Majestic Princess cruise-ship, Circular Quay [Jan-2020 239KB]
Luxury was a human right
Hollywood stars, ten-thousand dollar watches, begging for small-change. In perennially difficult economic times, brands made everyone feel special
Wristwatch dealership, Pitt Street Mall [Sep-2023 417KB]
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 419KB]
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 233KB]
In a cage of gold
Most binding financial agreements were happy ever after
Australia's richest street, Wolseley Road Point Piper [Sep-2012 235KB]
Zero-day vulnerability
At the end of 2019 Novel Sars-CoV-2 began to spread across the globe. Millions died, economies contracted and civic life became a meandering series of lockdowns
Balaclava sculpture (since removed) at the Newtown Tram Depot [Jul-2019 877KB]