Polaroid Diaries - The "Suburban Landscapes" Series

Rooftop View of Flemington Commission Flats (With Cloud).
Tuesday, May 08, 2007, 12:28 PM

Dear Diary - Even above the top floors of the tall and tallest buildings, there is still a lotta, lotta sky left over...We make our homes, binding ourselves to this and that plot of soil...We spend out lives looking ahead with lateral viewpoints, and take too little time to determine how we might deal with the void that is defined by the empty spaces we do not occupy...

	There is so much blue sky and one small cloud...the cloud has an echo - can you see it on the roof of one of the apartment buildings...? When I take the train into the city, I make a point to look out for this penthouse cloud...
	The ambient hum of local traffic...some midday bird chatter...the rolling trundle of a tram on Mt Alexander Road... Listen to a sound bite from this location... (*.mp3 format, 940KB)
	I am aloft, on the rooftop of a school in the area...the air smells clean in this treetoop world...
	I can feel the gritty sandiness of concrete and smooth hardness of the laminex tabletop that I am perched on to get a better view out over the metallic safety rail...
	The first impression is that it tastes bland here, but the longer one lingers and savours the more evident it becomes that there are certain subtle, indefinable flavours here that are invigorating and revitalising...

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Swan - Queen's Park.
Thursday, April 26, 2007, 8:12 AM

Dear Diary - I've always been a little bit frightened of swans...I seem to have caught them in unpredicatable and aggressive moments...

	A proud, black swan sits sunning itself in the early morning light...it looks at me warily, unsure of my intentions, unsettled by my proximity...it sits uneasily on a patch of grass and a sprinkling of autumn leaves, close to the footpaths and passersby...
	The closer I get the more the swan toots little warning sounds to its nearby mate...a duck trumpets out it presence...two women out running, pass by on the nearby footpath chatting about comparisons...the swans reassure one another that all is OK...a van door is slid shut and closes with a sudden bang... Listen to a sound bite from this location... (*.mp3 format, 940KB)
	The park smells fresh and green...early morning country with a hint of animal life - probably from the water and the ducks...passing walkers and morning joggers throw out a bitter-sweet mingling of perfumes and perspiration...at times a slight aroma of duck pooh wafts by...
	The grass is soft and spongy...tha path is hard and cool...the leaves scrunch beneath my feet...the swan is aloof and untouchable although its feathers look inviting and silken...
	Each time I swallow I taste a slight various in the ingredients of grass and water, duck pooh and soil, concrete and mulching leaves...

Commuters in the Mirror - Essendon Station.
Monday, April 23, 2007, 4:36 PM

Dear Diary - it helps us see around corners; to see who or what awaits us; to be prepared for the onslaught...

	It is dark here at the bottom of the ramp and one cannot always tell what awaits around the corner...there is a mirror that shows us who is coming, if anyone at all, and we can prepare the faces we shall wear to acknowledge or ignore each other...in the reflection we catch the glimpse of a closed circuit TV, reminding us that we do now truly live with Big Brother...this is our protection...this is the cost of our choices...wave to the faceless and displaced viewer seated in front of a bank of monitors in some undisclosed room behind an unmarked door...anonimity is their dominion...faceless authority is their potency...
	Distant reverberating bells echo the arrival of the train...commuters walk past...the sound of their footsteps rebound from wall to wall, the repercussions blending one into another...I grab the scene with a flick of my shutter...my rollers spew out the film and I quickly close myself away from the prying eyes of passers by... Listen to a sound bite from this location... (*.mp3 format, 940KB)
	The air is fresher here as the crosswinds and breezes from either end of this corridor (it forms the horizontal line of the underpass's T shape) make their way into this subterranean world and blessedly dilute the overarching tones of urine and ammonia that are found here...
	Here, at the place were the points of the "T" shaped tunnel meet, the corner formed by the meeting of the walls threatens a discomforting promise of "greasiness" - my imagined and presupposed result of thousands of wearyworn commuters slipping around this turning point at the end of each day...in actual fact, the opposite is true and the corners are worn smooth with a luxuriant patina that can only be attained after many years of being brushed and polished by the passing countless numbers of each day, each week, each year, each decade...
	I am still not tempted, however, to taste these walls and hand-railings...this subway's atmosphere remains heavy and oppressive enough with the flavours and fragrances of a hospital loo...

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The Division Between Light and Dark - Essendon Station.
Sunday, April 22, 2007, 12:18 PM

Dear Diary - some images are laden with metaphor...some are simply just a captured instance of the way things are...

	To the left and on an upward incline lies the path to light, to the brightly lit world outside, to the place of departure, leading to the point of one's desired destination...for those commuting, taking the journey on the light side can be deceptive, leading into days of drudgery and boredom...a kind of hell...To the right there is a descent into darkness, a tunnel through the underground, another means of finding one's destination...this way is lit dimly, although there is a hint of natural light which filters and leaks in from the corridor crossing at the bottom of the ramp...one hopes that this will lead home at the end of the day...
	This echo chamber world is riddled with the reverberations and repercussions of those who pass through...a couple of women approach and pass...one of them is pushing a pram...an older parm with hard tyre - not your super suspension and soft inflated cunshioned ride here - this kid is tough and enjoys the juttering of the ride...the echoing surrounds me and makes it difficult to make out their conversation...a ripple of laughter confirms that chatter is friendly...they continue on walking...the pusher shudders once more over the anti-slip textures of the ramp... Listen to a sound bite from this location... (*.mp3 format, 940KB)
	Breathing deeply, I am taken off guard by the mixed aromas of urine and ammonia...this is not a public toilet but it seems more than one person has used it as such and someone, in response, has taken pains to "freshen" it up in some way, to cleanse it in some sort of antiseptic solution...it doesn't quite work...
	The walls and railings are cold and feel dank, although they are not at all wet...the anti-slip surfaces of the ramp create some difficulty stand for my tripod's small feet...
	It tastes like I have sucked on one of those astringent deodorising blocks that are so generously spread around in the urinals and bowls of public toilets...

Railway Crossing - Puckle Street.
Thursday, April 19, 2007, 10:48 AM

Dear Diary - boom gates and bells...warnings and barriers, set to let us know when it's best to wait until the danger has passed...

	X marks the spot at the base of the candy-striped boom...pointing to the sky it waits patiently to heed the tolling signal of impending catastrophe should it not move through its pivotal arc from vertical to horizontal, taking on the full authority of its guardian raison d'etre...
	A warning bell comes to life...the distant claxon call of the approaching train...the rhythmic beating pulse of a pedestrian crossing signal is soon shrouded over by a deeper, thumping rhythmic pulse of metal on metal, train wheels on rail joints...the pitch of the trains motors and brakes lowers and diminishes in evidence of coming to a complete stop...a single bird greets the morning's commuters... Listen to a sound bite from this location... (*.mp3 format, 1,097KB)
	There is a strong smell that arises from the friction of brake pads on metal...
	I am leaning on a chest high cyclone fence...the metal strands of its mesh have been warmed by the morning's sun...
	If I powdered some metal and mixed it up with a small spoonful of brake lining, I'm sure it would taste much the same as the slightly caustic flavourings I experience here...

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Yellow and Blue.
Thursday, April 12, 2007, 4:07 PM

Dear Diary - Often referred to as the "Cheese Stick" I actually really like this vividly coloured sculpture...

	A shaft of bright yellow interrupts the deep cobalt blue swathe of the afternoon sky...one face of the monolithic construction lies in shadow whilst the other visible facade shines defiantly in the richness of its saturated yellow...
	As ever, being close to the freeway there is the constant sound of traffic, not so much an ambience but rather a continual presence, changing from moment to moment...the high pitched hiss of speeding a car...the low, laboured groans of a truck as it flicks through its gears...the throbbing, rhythmic rumbling of a passing motorbike... Listen to a sound bite from this location... (*.mp3 format, 940KB)
	The ever persistent wafting of exhaust fumes...a hint of moisture - I can smell the water of the nearby creek...
	Although the abrasive concrete supports, ramps and walls of the freeway bridges are now in the shade they hold the heat of the day's sun...the radiating warmth is comforting
	Maybe it's the airborne particles of water from the nearby creek mingling with fumes...maybe it's the sight of just how little water is flowing here now compared with 12 months ago...maybe it's the drought's own damacle's sword that seems to hang over us at the moment...but I'm sure I can taste impending rain...maybe it's just wishful thinking...