Left Behind 1 / 12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.

June 09, 2019

Left Behind


Left Behind 2 / 12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.

Around outer Melbourne housing estates are rapidly subsuming the existing semi-rural landscape, homes and lives. This work is an exploration of what’s been left behind to make way for progress.

Something that gives me a sense of calm and replenishes my spirit is to spend a day driving around country Victoria searching for scenes that capture my attention.

Recently I've been fascinated by houses, farms and structures that have been abandoned.


Around Melbourne, there are kilometres of housing estates spreading into semi-rural areas, with display suites on vast vacant blocks peppering the highways.


Just beyond these blocks there are abandoned houses that are soon to be absorbed and vanish, taking with them the memories of generations of lives lived on the land.

Left Behind 4 / 12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.
Left Behind 3 / 12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.


This work is centred around one of these houses. The structure still stands, and the inside has been largely gutted, however the owners belongings are strewn inside and outside the house.

Small items, play equipment, random odds and ends remain in place, offering us clues to those who left them behind.




Left Behind 5 / 12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.
Left Behind 6 /12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.
Left Behind 7 /12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.
Left Behind 8 / 12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.

This work was shot digitally, but to give the series a sense of place, a Fujifilm Velvia film rebate has been added, and a Velvia emulation added during image processing. Velvia was introduced in the 1990s andis a film mostly used for landscape in bright daylight and can be identified with warm, saturated colour.

Left Behind 9 / 12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.
Left Behind 10 / 12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.
Left Behind 11 / 12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.
Left Behind 12 / 12 - An exploration of subsumed lives at the edge of the urban sprawl.