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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The sun shone on the Supreme Leader: The inspection of State Food Processing Plant #2193 inspired genuine patriots to brandish flowers and spontaneously break into dance
Fast-food franchise at Old Canterbury Road, Hurlstone Park [Oct-2015 212kb]
Beneath the iron ceiling: Social mobility was bunk
Lord Sheffield Circuit at Penrith [Apr-2017 55kb]
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]
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 383kb]
Nothing's gonna change my world: Imagine no Holden Morrisey Caulfield
Strawberry Fields, Central Park NYC [Oct-2017 445kb]
Remarks…
Carnival ride: As we grew older, we craved the luxurious pampering and 24-hour buffets offered by floating Xanadus
Majestic Princess cruise liner, Circular Quay [Jan-2020 237kb]
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]
Waiting for the V-shaped recovery: It took almost a century to progress from sound fundamentals
and prosperity around the corner
to primed for lift-off next year
and bouncing back
Broadway bus-stop beggar, Central [Jan-2020 74kb]
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]
Race Day chic: Ladies in the public enclosure would enjoy themselves in the Cup aftermath
Rosehill Racecourse, Melbourne Cup hairdresser's picnic [Nov-2005 270kb]
Remarks…
The efficiency dividend playbook: A land full of equal opportunity, where respect for property, hard work, fair-play and fiscal discipline guaranteed a good life for all
Darling Point ferry wharf, Sydney [Jan-2017 283kb]
Remarks…
In a cage of gold: Most marriages were happy ever after
Australia's richest street, Wolseley Road Point Piper [Sep-2012 235kb]
Growing pains: People were strongly encouraged to use public transport to reduce traffic congestion
Commuters on the St Kilda tram, Melbourne [Apr-2019 207kb]
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]
Back to the beach: All thoughts eventually led to the sea
Surf carnival surf-skis, Manly beach [Jan-2021 314kb]
Winning the argument: Citizens learned that protest theatre was the only way to achieve positive social change
Palestinian demonstrators on George Street, Sydney CBD [Aug-2014 206kb]
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…
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]
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]
One-way journey: On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place
(Yes, 1971)
Ovation of the Seas cruise-liner at the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal [Dec-2017 108kb]
Remarks…
The Fine-Dining Industrial Complex: There was no better way to achieve a true sense of fulfilment than to be seen in a hatted restaurant
Restaurant exhaust stacks, Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal [Jan-2019 145kb]
The shadow of 1989: The Atlantic-centred post-WW2 order unravelled as soon as the Wall came down
Council kerbside clean-up, Darling Point [Jan-2017 478kb]
Heroes of Social Progress: Canonical ideals of liberalism, openness, thriving multiculturalism, safe routes to asylum, genuine compassion for society's most vulnerable, celebrating difference, counter-racism, mandatory cultural awareness, watch-lists, lone-wolves, quarantine camps, failed states, undocumented migration, entrepreneurial people-movement, empty supermarket shelves, hospital ships, months of level-four lockdowns
Confetti remnants of the 2012 Swans AFL team Victory Parade [Oct-2012 534kb]
All those moments: If only we had off-world colonies for a chance to start again
Times Square, NYC [Oct-2017 433kb]
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]
Aloha Oe: Our way of life faded right before our eyes
Pasifika themed vintage car, High Street Penrith [Mar-2018 404kb]
Equality of opportunity: To provide a more inclusive and accessible education for all children and families, along with the virtues of diversity, competition and ensuring excellence in the marketplace of educational options, everyone agreed that governments must vigorously underwrite parental free-choice
GPS school tennis courts in Stanmore [Sep-2012 198kb]
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]
Cameo soulmate: Golden sunshine fades down Rae street; Fingers full of unexpected rings; Marry well and inherit big she said; And other practical things
Project Halo at Central Park in Sydney [Nov-2022 364kb]
Cultural aftershocks: The impact of the 911 terrorist attacks reverberated for decades
911 Memorial park and museum, NYC [Oct-2017 232kb]
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…
Retrofitting diversity: From “Apartheid” to “Black Lives Matter” in only one generation
Bent Street, Lithgow. [Apr-2012 365kb]
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 225kb]
Driving home for Christmas: Childhood summer holidays strapped into the back seat of a car
Christmas display, Centrepoint Sydney [Dec-2019 245kb]
摆 烂: By using Evergrande Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the CCP gloriously reshaped the Motherland into a wise and benevolent superpower
St Collins Lane upstairs food court, Melbourne [Apr-2019 416kb]
Spirited formalism: Everyone benefited from our unwavering commitment to certain kinds of inclusion and metropolitan diversity
The waterfall entrance to the NGV, Melbourne [Apr-2019 618kb]
Remarks…
Because austerity: The signs of recovery were difficult to discern
Bird cages outside the China Lane restaurant, at Angel Place in Sydney [Oct-2013 276kb]
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. Centuries of white male privilege had to be expunged, and if a few of the decayed remnants of the patriarchy were sacrificed, then so be it
An air-filled waver during the Sydney Swans AFL team celebrations, at Sydney Town Hall [Oct-2012 137kb]
Release the bats: Canned music, caterwauling karaoke & wall-to-wall blinking poker-machines
Nick Cave from The Birthday Party at Sydney University Refectory [Jan-1982 77kb]
By this sign thou shalt conquer: Iota, Eta, Sigma: to die poor was a sin
South Head General Cemetery, at Vaucluse [Nov-2016 146kb]
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]
Discrimination positive: Progressive feminists and red-pill misogynists 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]
The authentic self: The best we could hope for was to become a billionaire's pet
Town Hall arcade begging, Sydney [Jul-2015 342kb]
Never gonna not dance again: There was nothing more heartfelt and delicious than randomly flailing around most of your limbs more or less in time to the doof²
Egan Street terrace, Newtown [Nov-2022 472kb]
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]
Thought showers: In order 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 facilitate a win-win paradigm
The repurposed cauldron from the best Olympic Games ever [Aug-2017 407kb]
Ever present eye: A watchful environment loaded with photographers to record your every moment
Anzac Day photographers, Park Street Sydney [Apr-2018 268kb]
Looking back: We stood by the Well of Contemplation to admire the sacrifice of others
Hall of Memory, Anzac Memorial Sydney [Jan-2020 185kb]
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]
Free at last: Your mortgage turned out to be a perfect forced-savings vehicle
Victoria Street terrace, Kings Cross [Jul-2018 347kb]
Community standards : Our suburbs were strewn with eye-popping enticements by agile entrepreneurs
Dulwich Hill skate park [Sep-2015 98kb]
Remarks…
Gone a million: The rich were always with us
Abandoned Rolls-Royce automobile at Hiles Street in Alexandria [Jun-2015 289kb]
Remarks…
Zero-day vulnerability: Novel Sars-CoV-2 spread across the globe after 2019. Millions died and civic life became a meandering series of snap lockdowns
Balaclava sculpture (since removed) at the Newtown Tram Depot [Jul-2019 670kb]
Together at last: A journey of eight hundred and seventy one thousand, three hundred and forty nine miles began with a single step
Newly-weds at Grand Central Station, NYC [Oct-2017 250kb]
Dolchstoßlegende: Historical data was of little use to a society which always looked forward
Photography at Observatory Hill, Sydney [Jan-2020 908kb]
Underlying conditions: Health interests had to be balanced with protecting the economy. It was achieved by changing a few epidemiological definitions, statistically rationalising deaths and shifting the emphasis to personal responsibility and submission compliance blame resilience
The Masked Passenger, near Glenbrook [Jan-2020 160kb]
Redefining perfection: You press the button, we do the rest
(Eastman, 1888)
Laurie Daley and fans at SOH [Jul-2014 288kb]
Direct instruction: Expert guidance and interpretive panels ensured that Art was enjoyed correctly
AGNSW tour guide, Sydney [Mar-2019 142kb]
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: If half of the population of same-sex couples chose to marry within one year, the benefits to the economy in the first year of the legislation would be over $1 billion…
(ABC News, 2017)
Same-sex Marriage Law Postal Survey posters outside the Imperial Hotel at Erskineville [Sep-2017 274kb]
Grey nomads: The Big Lap added years to our lives
Covered motorcycles on Billyard Ave, Elizabeth Bay [Dec-2015 288kb]
Cordon sanitaire: 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]
Suburban borderland: A little slice of heaven, where dreams often did come true
Darling Point renovations, Sydney [Jan-2017 376kb]
Every city another Venice: From aquarium to fish-soup in one generation
Tourists at the McMahon Point ferry wharf, Sydney [Jan-2019 263kb]
Field of golden corflutes: Democracy continued to best represent the interests of those most invested
NSW election voting centre at Town Hall [Mar-2019 543kb]
Remarks…
Null pointers: Always remember who you were and what you fought for
Castlereagh Hotel Remembrance Shrine, Sydney [Jan-2019 145kb]
There was always someone for everyone: Eugenics through involuntary abstinence
Bollards at Circular Quay, in Sydney [Oct-2013 576kb]
F2F heroes: Who was the faker and who was the fake?
Madame Tussauds Sydney, Darling Harbour [Jan-2019 86kb]
Vibrant isolation: The doorbell legit scares me now. I jump every time. It just seems so aggressive now when you could just text
(WSJ, 2017)
Young Street terrace doorway (since repainted) at Annandale [Sep-2015 647kb]
Mission statement: The Glory of the coming of the Lord was passed-in at auction
What was once an Anglican church, but became an open-plan dwelling, at Warrimoo in the Blue Mountains [Jul-2011 93kb]
The post-industrial well-being complex: A lifetime of small authentic moments, where we mindfully honoured our feelings, aligned our vibrational energy, feasted from the whole pantry, applied essential oils, embraced our expansion, and followed our bliss down the path to soulistic wellness
Sydney Olympic Park RSPCA stalls [May-2018 281kb]
Bench blanket bingo: Cover, cloak, cape, napkin, camouflage, shroud
Coalcliff station platform, South Coast NSW [Apr-2012 398kb]
Electric evanescence: People would sing happily while hurling five-kilogram masses
Strike Bowling, King Street Wharf Darling Harbour [Jan-2019 111kb]
Suburban psychodrama: Our belief in a better tomorrow was clearly expressed through our architecture
Front yard gate, Great Western Highway [May-2019 244kb]
A few personal blow-outs: Success, power, glamour, excuses, misstatements, lies
Corner of Chippendale lane, near Central [Jul-2017 295kb]
The militaristic subtext: Despite decades of “peace”, the common purpose of every action was “security”
The crypt beneath the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne [Apr-2019 164kb]
Fête Moderne: It took a long time to shrug off the Superwoman myth
W-H portrait session, Hurstville [Jun-1991 354kb]
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]
Molecular resonance: Free markets guaranteed the enjoyment of identical products and services everywhere
Nike Savas installation at Macquarie Centre, Sydney [Dec-2017 501kb]
Grand theft generations: With all the cheap debt we created, those over 50 could comfortably retire to built-to-sublease apartments in the sky
Jacksons Landing at Pyrmont in Sydney [Jan-2013 113kb]
Unquestioningly affirmative: In a changing world and with the best intentions, it was not enough to use progressive arguments 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]
Scenes from the new world: Willkommenskultur guaranteed a kaleidoscope of culinary delights
Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne [Apr-2019 106kb]
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]
Murder on the dance-floor: The Enlightenment turned out to be just a bunch of flashing lights in a discotheque
Queen Victoria Building “disco” Christmas lights, Sydney [Oct-2020 233kb]
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…
Go hard or go home: The more we studied history, the more problematic it became
Harbour Sands at Darling Harbour [Jan-2017 753kb]
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]
Some kind of connection: Pets lifted our spirits and reminded us of who we really were
On the Parramatta ferry to Abbotsford [Mar-2015 288kb]
A story of the margins: Come and park in the gutted remains of where people once earned a living
Ex-Arnotts biscuit factory car park at North Strathfield [Jun-2017 419kb]
Raise the LED flag: The lights dimmed throughout a divided USA
Armed Forces recruiting station, Times Square NYC [Oct-2017 241kb]
Manufacturing Eros: Productivity was boosted by using retouched images of completely unavailable women
Workbench at the Pottery Estate, Lithgow [Jun-2019 499kb]
Operational Matters: VIP Lounges, lotteries, pokies, meat-trays, linked EFTPOS accounts
Behind the Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, Dunedin NZ [Nov-2017 173kb]
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]
Cultural attrition: Civility could not last forever in a vacuum
Wall graffito, subsequently painted over, in a Pitt Street Lane near Town Hall [Oct-2012 405kb]
Malpractice with impunity: The very first document, among hundreds in this folder, is a written admission by our client that he mixed up his patients and accidentally performed a full hysterectomy on the 35-year-old plaintiff. Correction — our client is actually [redacted], not the surgeon, who is merely a policy holder of our client.
Well, the surgeon admits, in writing, that he sterilised the plaintiff by doing an unauthorised procedure. Neither side dispute this — so why is this thing dragging on for years with requests for interrogatories, updated medical reports and dozens of discovery hearings? Well, it is our firm's policy to fully test all claims to discourage frivolous ones.
But the surgeon has freely 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 fully test all claims to discourage frivolous ones…
The ghosts of lawyering among the tombstones at Camperdown cemetery, Newtown [Jun-2015 407kb]
Remarks…
Contumacious determination: Faithful servants of the court had a duty to massage reality until outcomes matched expectations
Addison Road community centre, Marrickville [Sep-2012 177kb]
Lotus, Porsha & Mersaydees: Part of Bogan Pride was to give your children the 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]
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]
Stare decisis: It wasn't everyday you saw a vandalised church
St Stephens Anglican Church, Penrith [Jun-2022 344kb]
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]
Racquet Kultur: Watch, cheer, drink, boo, repeat
Show Court #3 outside the Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne Tennis Centre [Apr-2019 259kb]
The Wall is the Wall: (Trump, 2018)
Busking opposite Sydney Town Hall [Jan-2018 338kb]
Fungible ideology: It didn't require much effort to pivot from “SJW” to “WSJ”
Fearless Girl statue, NYC [Oct-2017 383kb]
Deus lo vult: It turned out that Organised Religion wasn't
Greek Orthodox church on Belgrave Street, Kogarah [Oct-2013 326kb]
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]
Staying on message: Sectarian quarrelling went on for so long that it etched itself into the environment
Christian propaganda (since removed) at Belmore Park Sydney Central [Apr-2016 708kb]
Contraindications: All the bright lights could not conceal the darkness
Luna Park Friday night rides [Jan-2019 389kb]
The well-stamped passport: Take another selfie and move on, criss-cross the world only to find yourself
Tourists scrum at Sydney Cove [Aug-2014 165kb]
Remarks…
Full meta jacket: The deep epistemological reflection upon the Manichaean nature of post-analytical meta-analysis of the Aesthetic Theory of Nihilistic Communitarianism, was — despite the liberal use of significant, robust and holistic evidence — spoiled by unhelpfully self-referential endnotes
Infinite regression at Croydon [Sep-2016 98kb]
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]
Lambos to the moon: It was an era of unending optimism. Families prospered, inflation was beaten (until 2022) and credit was easy to get at near-zero rates (until 2022). Ordinary men and women were flipping investment properties, collecting NFTs and betting on cryptocurrencies. Stock markets kept rising inexorably, while house values soared to what looked like a permanently high plateau…
Living statue performer at Circular Quay [Jul-2017 253kb]
Remarks…
Brett's armchair: The same music in completely different hands
Sixteenth floor, Harbourside Apartments [Jan-2019 275kb]
Remarks…
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]
Logic had nothing to do with oppression: (Steinem, 1983)
Egalitarian architecture at Wunulla Road in Point Piper [Sep-2012 164kb]
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]
Winning at the starting line: Party members, broadcasting and strategic partners cheered. 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 until the light fades
Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse, ANMM Darling Harbour Sydney [Nov-2021 248kb]
Once I built a railroad: Delayed due to an operational issue
… Postponed due to a train requiring mechanical repairs
… 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 due to a broken pantograph
… Transport authorities have urged passengers allow additional travel time, listen to announcements and check indicator boards 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
… 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
… 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
… 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
… 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]
Allow plenty of additional travel time: Spatially mismatched cities where amenity, employment and education were deliberately centralised, forcing the non-rich to commute for hours from the urban fringe
Trains on the T1 Western Line pass through Burwood Station [Apr-2015 212kb]
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]
Dialectical moralism: A vanguard of progressive activists, academics and newsmakers decided it was their moral duty to reshape everyone else's morals
Rainbow house, Stanmore [Nov-2017 296kb]
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]
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]
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]
Living in a short here: It was taken for granted that we would live long productive lives
AGNSW volunteer guide, Sydney [Jul-2022 225kb]
You can't live like this: We loved each other like it was the end of the world
Cockle Bay promenade, Darling Harbour [Dec-2003 371kb]
Lamp beside the golden door: Decades of pluralist multiculturalism was regarded as a hallmark of progress. To achieve it peacefully was a tremendous accomplishment (Turnbull, 2017)
Some of the congregation after service at St Pauls Cathedral, Melbourne [Apr-2019 280kb]
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]
Sumptuary laws: The entire fashion industry was trickle-down in its purest form
Step into Paradise Exhibition at Powerhouse Museum, Sydney [Jan-2020 410kb]
It's just a jump to the left: Everyone was convinced liberal democracy would sweep the world
Pedestrian passageway at Potts Point [Dec-2015 525kb]
In the thrall of Schedule 8: A large number of people spent their lives up the Cross
Fitzroy Gardens in Kings Cross [May-2003 418kb]
Remarks…
True deliverance make: Be sure your sins will find you out
Clothesline posts at Millers Point [Aug-2016 369kb]
Laps around the sun: Quiet voices in a quiet room; The graceful movements of her hands; The cone of cigarette smoke beneath the ceiling light; Her voice, her smell, her mouth, her warmth; By morning we were gone
Turning circle (since repainted) outside Central Station, Sydney [Mar-2019 918kb]
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 pack of wedding paparazzi; The rhinestone encrusted complimentary selfie sticks; The juggling flower-girl triplets; The wow-factor troupe of wedding drummers; 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]
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…
The natural order: Developers → Banks → Speculators → Mortgagors → Tennants → Unhoused
Fairy Bower cafe dog bowls, Manly [Jan-2021 576kb]
How did we ever get here?: An unending mausoleum of reinforced concrete, seen through translucent windscreens smeared with bile
Ventilation funnels atop the Kogarah Railway Station car-park [Apr-2011 41kb]
Points of light: Remember, remember the eleventh of November
Shrine of Remembrance, 11AM beam of light [Apr-2019 379kb]
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]
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]
Our plates in heaven: Between mouthfuls we would chat for hours about signature dishes and fusion and aroma and flavourful and authenticity and three-hatted chefs and all the countless things we loved or didn't love to eat
Acland Cake Shop window display, St Kilda Melbourne [Apr-2019 391kb]
Character arc: A lot of work was done to broaden the variety of gender roles
Sydney candid triptych [Oct-2014 247kb]
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]
The Law of Conservation of Sport: If bread ↓ then Circus ↑
Footy supporters watch their team lose at Panthers Park [Jul-2003 412kb]
Let's now focus on the football!: During weekly mass at St. Bernardino Cathedral, the archreferee would hold aloft the Sacred Sphere and bestow upon us His most holy blessing: Kind friends and VVIPs, we are gathered here today to line pockets, throw flares and drink beers. To give 110% when sports-washing the unsaved. To find the back of the net, a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God. 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…
Sports promotion at Olympic Park [Aug-2017 188kb]
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]