Introducing my new collection of photographs, Front Yard.

I humbly ask for your support to make my next photobook a reality.

Front Yard will form the final part of a trilogy that started with Suburban Baroque in 2019 and Small Business in 2021. 

A walk around one’s local neighbourhood can reveal some startling surprises. Nymphs bereft of clothing, wishing wells, putti grappling mythological sea creatures, seashell-encrusted birdbaths and elaborate wrought iron extravaganzas are just a few examples.

I’ve taken the photos over the past 12 years. The selection of 90 images is gleaned from a total of almost 1000, recording the hard work of those who go above and beyond in their pursuit of a notable front yard. The suburban vernacular captured in the photographs forms a poignant slice of social history.

Some of the most startling homemade creations were crafted by post-war migrants from southern Europe, in particular Italy and Greece. This reaches its zenith with the “You have to see it to believe it”  fountain in Fiddes Street Brunswick that is topped with life-size tile-encrusted dolphins. 

More recently, migrants from S.E. Asia have formed elaborate topiary creations. Ick Chu’s locally famous hallucinatory garden in Sunshine West is a wonderful example for us all to enjoy, and for the ambitious to emulate. 

In some gardens Australiana exists alongside representations of their country of origin, to express both nostalgia for their former home, alongside pride in their adopted land.

Those of Anglo descent weren’t limited to tyre swans and concrete storks. An entire paper could be written about the dated attitudes embodied in the life-size concrete representation of our coat of arms spotted in Ballarat. In the centre, between the kangaroo and the emu stands a First Nations warrior. In front of him, a faded sign reads “Fair Dinkum Aussies”.

All of the garden features in the book refreshingly defy contemporary good taste. Sometimes defiantly so.

Like my previous two books, the focus is on the period from the 1950s to the 1970s. My interest in documenting this era isn’t driven by nostalgia but rather by my interest, as a wandering amateur archivist, in the changes I’ve seen in my lifetime. With the passing of generations, the process of urban densification and gentrification threatens the existence of these particular cultural manifestations. The book will record them for posterity - with an objective eye.

Front Yard is set to be released through M.33 and will be available in a limited edition of 500 copies. The book will feature a hardcover format, 24x24cm, and comprising around 200 pages, with over 90 colour plates.

Based in Melbourne and working collaboratively with artists and designers, M.33 specialises in contemporary photographic publishing with a focus on excellent design in the service of strong and thoughtful content.

M.33 have published some of Australia’s most interesting photographers including Jane Burton, Cherine Fahd, Yanni Florence, Darren Sylvester, Konrad Winkler, Peter Milne, Drew Pettifer, Rod McNicol and Janina Green.

Printing.           $5000

Freight.            $1000

Design.            $1000

Total.                $7000