* Copy courtesy of Scribe Publications *
Victorian photographer Warren Kirk is back with a brand new collection Beyond Suburbia. Having enjoyed Northside, Christmas in Suburbia and Westography, I was keen to discover the vistas Kirk would discover beyond the suburbs of Melbourne. Having grown up in Gippsland, I know there are plenty of old shop fronts and ghost signs to be found in every small town in Victoria and it appears Kirk has found some real gems in his travels.
The Introduction is written by Australian author Don Watson - who was born in Warragul and grew up on a farm in Korumburra - so it was nice to see a photograph of a gold hand-painted sign for the Sentinel-Times Publishing Co from Watson's home town of Korumburra in this collection.
Like Christos Tsiolkas and Helen Garner before him, Don Watson set the scene perfectly although I still would have preferred to hear from the author himself. Having enjoyed several of his collections now, I'm eager to hear what inspires Warren Kirk, how he conducts his work and how he introduces himself to his subjects, somehow managing to put them at ease in their environments while staring down the lens of what must be an impressive camera.
Whether the subject of the portrait stands in front of their home or behind the counter of their shop, the photograph invites you to see them in their domain, complete with knick-knacks, shop inventory and more besides. I found myself wondering if the photographer asked them to stand in front or behind their front gate, whether they wanted to change their clothes or fix their hair but were encouraged to stay precisely as they were to allow their genuine selves to be captured for posterity without artifice or embellishment.
In this collection I noticed an increased focus on signage and ghost signs which put me in mind of Melbourne Ghost Signs by Sean Reynolds, also published by Scribe. I wonder if these two photographers have ever met.
Kirk likes to photograph the interiors and exteriors of houses, shop fronts, motels (like the one on the cover), service stations, hairdressers, automotive shops and more. If the paint is faded or peeling, if the ironwork is rusty, if the hand painted signage is reminiscent of days gone by or the architecture is a throwback to the 1930s - 1960s it's guaranteed to capture his photographic eye.
Many of these structures - and sometimes the people in them - bring to mind those that populated my formative years and conjure memories of another era. A cafe with a timber interior and picture frames covered in seashells taken in Sale gave me a jolt of recognition, having visited there often in my youth. Some rural and regional towns were familiar from various road trips and a consequence of living in Melbourne for the past 25 years, while most could have been taken anywhere in Australia.
Warren Kirk's body of work seems to be unified by a theme of time and the passage of it, with each photograph transporting the viewer 50+ years back in time. Beyond Suburbia is recommended for anyone who enjoys photography or has an interest in Australia's social history. I wonder where his camera will take him next.
