well it is just a photo of a kid having fun – not actaually a looter. it just seemed to fit the mood at time of posting. i hope you are not alll ticked off with me.
now for a soundtrack for angry disaffected youth who just want to smash shit up for the sake of it:
Edited: August 14th, 2011
what do you say about this? cheap housing, social disaster, slum, what else?
i was last around here about 5 years ago and i can tell you that i have noticed a hell of a lot more africans and muslims in the area. i have also noticed a significant decline in the amount of junkies hovering about the place.
i am not saying that this is actually how it is, i am just saying that this is what i noticed.
gentrification of the area is also noticable, but i do not connect the two.
as far as these souless buildings go, my attitude has changed a little since posting on the redfern suicide towers.
i believe that the aim of the government is correct – to provide low income earners with a home for minimal rent in a place that is close to the services and job opportunities of the city. i see this public housing (which is on prime real estate – in sydney many come with privacy and harbour views) as a springboard. for people down on their luck or for recent immigrants to get their shit together, become employable, to understand, respect and become part of the general community, get a job and then move out into their own home.
the piss is being taken though. many would think – ‘why should i get a job when the govt pays me money, i do cash work on the side and get an apartment for next to nothing in a funky part of town with a fuck-off good view’?
Edited: June 19th, 2011
i think most of us have gotten used to this.
here is a creepy little song to go along with the image:
Edited: November 6th, 2010
i feel a little bit sad most times i walk into a property that’s advertised as a ‘deceased estate’ – especially when there are cracks in the walls so wide, you can use them as a breakfast counter.
the places more often or not feel really lonely and sad and i always find myself wondering in which room did the person die in and were they alone? how long did it take for the body to be found?
sometimes the places have very cool furniture though.
Edited: October 23rd, 2010
ah the redfern public housing estate, lovingly known locally as the ‘redfern suicide towers’. i feel drawn to this place – you can see it for miles around. you could even say that they stick out like dogs balls.
they sort of remind me of those post-war apartment blocks with paper-thin walls that popped up all over the eastern bloc.
here is the pic from my last visit to the redfern suicide apartments
Edited: June 25th, 2010
why would you do that? these stuffed toys were water-logged and stank. maybe they think it makes their house look lovely, when in fact it makes their house look like a skanky dump.
this is in marrickville. there seem to be quite a few houses like this in the area. take a look at this dump i saw a while back.
Edited: June 24th, 2010
well, kind of….
this is an awesome work by artist Shen Shaomin showing on cockatoo island as part of the 2010 sydney bienalle.
fidel is prone in hospital here, mechanics providing a rising and sinking chest as he is making his death rattles. he is positioned as a point of a pentagram, the other points are life-sized and equally freakish models of lenin, great leader chaiman mao, uncle ho, and great leader kim il-sung.
he’s in great company. very tongue in cheek, the work is called ‘summit’(2010). i like.
another photo from the amazing series.
Edited: June 20th, 2010
this was taken somewhere in Liverpool/Moorebank.
looks peaceful enough, but according to some of the locals this place turns into something out of the Thriller video at night. packs of kids roam the streets at night, tagging up, smashing up and setting fire to things all over the place. When dusk falls, the neighbours start to worry.
check out the urban equivalent of bad town planning and social meltdown here.
i know this may be an exaggeration, but i imagine that rather than Thriller, it is more likely to be like Come to daddy, see below:
glad i don’t live around here.
TAGS: liverpool, moorebank, music, social, social disaster, suburbia, Sydney
Edited: July 29th, 2009
I was out at the suicide flats today and took quite a few shots. I think the best would be to publish a photo story on what I found out there. There is no one picture that can sum out what a mess things are out there – as well as there is no one shot that can convey the sense of community there.
there were old people out catching some rays, a real mixed bag multiculturally. The were lots of people (mostly old) hanging out in the lobby, chatting away and there were a few junkies ambling about – having more difficulty walking than the old people.
the suburban version of societal decay can be found here.
they have just demolished quite a few of the low-rise public housing and there are cranes and excavators working on putting up some more medium to high density accommodations. It looks alright from the plans, but I just wonder how long they can keep it looking good for?
i imagine there’s loads of “come to daddy” going on here.
Here’s the link:
http://www.redwatch.org.au/issues/public-housing/redevelopment/elizabeth-street/070430dohd/image_view_fullscreen
Edited: July 20th, 2009