Christopher Sanders - STREET
11 February - 12 March 2017, Opening Event: Saturday 11 February, 2 - 4pm
The title of this exhibition of photographic prints is Street and it is a reflection on how the ambience and physical environs of the inner city are changing due to planning regulations. These have encouraged high density- developments which appeal to a younger group of people who in turn are changing the feel, the ‘vibe’ of the area I have lived in for most of my adult life and which I know so well. The exhibition is also a celebration of the liveliness and variety of the inner city as well as a reflection upon the impact of the current apartment building boom.
Around 2010 the infamous ‘Cheesegrater’, Fitzroy’s first mega apartment-block, bounded by Napier, Kerr, Argyle and Young streets was nearing completion. I started to photograph it and selected constructions with the vague idea of creating an ongoing project. I wasn’t sure which direction this might take. After some time, I began to realize that the broader subject was the street itself, and the people and their activities within this context.
As a photographer I am looking for interesting and strong images. When I shoot in the street my first objective is the composition. Then the site becomes important as it frames what happens as people pass. The images are not directly about individuals and I have no idea who they might be, other than through the general signifiers of age and dress. I edit and process images on the basis of what I think they might say, but equally the viewer can make their own judgment.
Most of the photographs have been taken around Collingwood-Fitzroy and Smith Street. Collingwood is being redefined and new businesses and clubs have gone a long way to transforming a street ambience that had previously endured for decades. It has been a fascinating mix to observe through the camera lens. The scale and continuity of the fading Victorian street facades are the precious and defining elements of local streetscapes, and these form a key element of this exhibition. I value more than ever their contribution to the local ambience as the potential for further insensitive redevelopment looms.
The Victorian era strip street is powerfully identified with inner Melbourne. It creates the ambience where people go to meet, shop and avail themselves of services. I can think of Chapel Street, Smith Street, Lygon Street, Sydney Road, Victoria Street and so on, each with a very distinctive character. For decades they have largely kept their low-rise strip character but now redeveloped sections of these are shadows of their former past, most with over-scaled street frontages supporting high-density developments. Baldly, this can be framed as more people, less charm, and a significant loss of heritage value for future generations.
This has been an interesting project for me, one that has led to my walking the local streets with camera in hand the past few years. Street photography is a challenging photographic genre. Photography freezes the moment. It allows the viewer time to reflect, to weigh the actions of the players in each frame. I came to realize through looking at images of early Melbourne that as part of living in dense urban environments our visual environment transforms inexorably over time due to changing technologies and population growth. Still shots are but moments in time and allow viewers the luxury of examining in detail and at leisure, many times over, the characteristics of each scene. As time passes, the photographic image has the capacity to gain in power. In the context of new knowledge and technologies the image’s content will slowly be seen from a different viewpoint. Photography is a medium well suited to expressing change and local viewpoint.
Around 2010 the infamous ‘Cheesegrater’, Fitzroy’s first mega apartment-block, bounded by Napier, Kerr, Argyle and Young streets was nearing completion. I started to photograph it and selected constructions with the vague idea of creating an ongoing project. I wasn’t sure which direction this might take. After some time, I began to realize that the broader subject was the street itself, and the people and their activities within this context.
As a photographer I am looking for interesting and strong images. When I shoot in the street my first objective is the composition. Then the site becomes important as it frames what happens as people pass. The images are not directly about individuals and I have no idea who they might be, other than through the general signifiers of age and dress. I edit and process images on the basis of what I think they might say, but equally the viewer can make their own judgment.
Most of the photographs have been taken around Collingwood-Fitzroy and Smith Street. Collingwood is being redefined and new businesses and clubs have gone a long way to transforming a street ambience that had previously endured for decades. It has been a fascinating mix to observe through the camera lens. The scale and continuity of the fading Victorian street facades are the precious and defining elements of local streetscapes, and these form a key element of this exhibition. I value more than ever their contribution to the local ambience as the potential for further insensitive redevelopment looms.
The Victorian era strip street is powerfully identified with inner Melbourne. It creates the ambience where people go to meet, shop and avail themselves of services. I can think of Chapel Street, Smith Street, Lygon Street, Sydney Road, Victoria Street and so on, each with a very distinctive character. For decades they have largely kept their low-rise strip character but now redeveloped sections of these are shadows of their former past, most with over-scaled street frontages supporting high-density developments. Baldly, this can be framed as more people, less charm, and a significant loss of heritage value for future generations.
This has been an interesting project for me, one that has led to my walking the local streets with camera in hand the past few years. Street photography is a challenging photographic genre. Photography freezes the moment. It allows the viewer time to reflect, to weigh the actions of the players in each frame. I came to realize through looking at images of early Melbourne that as part of living in dense urban environments our visual environment transforms inexorably over time due to changing technologies and population growth. Still shots are but moments in time and allow viewers the luxury of examining in detail and at leisure, many times over, the characteristics of each scene. As time passes, the photographic image has the capacity to gain in power. In the context of new knowledge and technologies the image’s content will slowly be seen from a different viewpoint. Photography is a medium well suited to expressing change and local viewpoint.
Fifties Factory Carcass (demolished) Queens Pde, 2016
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
65cm x 33cm
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
65cm x 33cm
The Jesus Tostaderia (formerly the old post office), 2016
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
49cm x 33cm
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
49cm x 33cm
Yorkshire Brewery and Winter Sky, 2013
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
49cm x 33cm
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
49cm x 33cm
Banco-Coles Development with Tram in Foreground, 2016
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
49cm x 33cm
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
49cm x 33cm
Walking the Dog With Woolworths in the Background, 2016
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
49cm x 33cm
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
49cm x 33cm
Man with a Phone – Perry and Smith Streets Collingwood, 2016
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
49cm x 33cm
Archival print on 300gsm cotton rag paper
49cm x 33cm
