Architecture
Seeing as though we’re out in the garden I thought I’d share some additional images shot for Obake Gardens from Secret Garden House by Amiconi Architects.
Mieke Pattison has done a stunning job of creating a secluded oasis and productive garden in one.
I’m a little ashamed to admit I made my first visit to Hobart this year, that it took a building to get me there, and that I still didn’t make it to MONA. I know, what have I been doing with my life?!
All that aside, let’s talk about the building. The Hedberg, designed by local firm Liminal Studio and Singapore’s WOHA (of Kampung Admiralty fame). Home to the lovely folks and students at University of Tasmania who welcomed me so warmly, and The Theatre Royal.
I won’t ramble on, I’ll just say that it’s a stunning building, inside and out. Suitably beautiful and functional to be home to Hobart’s performing arts. It was an absolute pleasure UTAS!
Builder: Hansen Yunken
Landscape Architecture: Inspiring Place
Lighting and Acoustics: Arup Group Limited & Southern Lighting Source
Here’s something a little different from usual, shot for the Urban Design team at City of Boroondara. The first, a laneway activation project opposite Camberwell Primary School aimed at creating a safer passage for school kids and locals. The second, a street furniture upgrade at Camberwell Market. No shortage of talent for the shoot as the locals seem to making the most of both already!
I watched this house being built - caught glimpses of it from the surrounding streets. It’s not too far from where I’m living while my house is being built. Despite having watched it, I was still surprised, delighted even, when I made my first site visit. The clever orientation of the studio at the street, the house at back and the gorgeous, productive garden in between. I just assumed it ran straight along the eastern boundary! The interiors are impressive too. Plenty of natural light from the northern facing doors to the garden but warm and cosy at the same time. A credit to the clever team behind it!
Architecture: Amiconi Architects
Interiors: Cassie Duncan
Builder: Warrawee Homes
Landscape Design: Obake Gardens
Styling: Pip+Coop
Now this is different. Floor to ceiling ply at this new studio in Clifton Hill by Meredith Lee. What can I say, it’s just so pretty! Sigh.
Sunny days have been few and far between in recent months but I managed to line up a (mostly) stunning one to shoot Mundaring, an outstanding new childcare centre in Cranbourne by Michael Carr Architects. Fresh, clean, colourful and complete with double height ceiling and an observation space for teacher training.
I spent a weekend in town last year, a belated celebration for my 40th birthday actually. Belated thanks to COVID, of course. It was the first weekend after the last big lockdown and the city was still beautifully sleepy and peaceful. I slipped out for a walk one morning and was drawn towards 1 Treasury Place, a favourite designed by Yuncken Freeman Architects in the 1960s.
Now as any photographer with a “serious” looking camera knows you can barely lift your camera around 1 Treasury Place without being asked to leave, but on this day they must have been feeling particularly generous. I think I was there for nearly 30 minutes before they told me to go away. I wasn’t finished but I was pretty pleased with the precious and rare time I had.
There’s an equally rare self portrait amongst these images to mark the occasion too!
As promised, I’m sharing another body of work from recent years (well, a selection of images from it). This one, Metropolis, followed on from "Ships in the Night" and was also made in 2018. It continues my ongoing exploration on the theme of isolation, a theme that has taken on a whole new meaning since I made this work. In any case, I’m not done with it!
This body of work was exhibited in 2018 at Yarra Sculpture Gallery as part of the Fresh 18 Group show. These and all of my fine art works are available in limited edition prints - get in touch via the Contact page if you’d like to know more.
Metropolis
I am drawn to cities and never tire of capturing their beauty, overt and hidden. There is a certainty in the symmetries, patterns, colours and forms that is familiar and comfortable.
The city holds great appeal for me yet I feel an imbalance.
As our cities grow and sprawl, so too does our sense of isolation and loneliness. The rural villages of connected communities have given way to vast metropolises of concrete and steel, overflowing with profoundly disconnected, lonely individuals. Disconnected from each other and from nature.
