It’s not every day you get to meet an artist lured into photographing abandoned buildings in forgotten places.
Opportunity knocks this weekend with the opening of an international book launch and photographic exhibition in Tewantin.
Noosa Councillor Karen Finzel will unveil the much-anticipated event at Max
Galleria this Saturday, February 12, from 6pm to 9pm.
Entitled, ‘Memories of Australia’, the exhibition documents the architecture and
interiors of Australia’s industrial past, inciting wonder of the stories behind
beloved monumental relics, once thriving dwellings from a bygone era.
Gallery curator Maxine Stibbe who showcased Noosa-based author-photographer Matt Bushell’s first works at the exclusive Art@16 group exhibition at her Noosaville gallery in 2016, says his career has since skyrocketed.
“To see Matt now with an international book launch after giving him his first
opportunity to exhibit, makes me happy to share the passion of an enormous
talent in our community,” Ms Stibbe said.
“He could have launched it down in Brisbane, where he works full-time and has
been given lots of opportunities, but he chose the person in little Tewantin who
helped him along the way,” she said.
When working for five years as a graphic designer in Singapore for global real
estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle, Bushell discovered a love for photographing
graffiti seven years ago.
But a much greater love proved monumental.
“In Singapore, graffiti is frowned upon and there’s a hefty penalty if you get
caught doing it. So, I wanted to go in and photograph it. And one place where
you can find graffiti is on abandoned buildings,” Matt said.
“I was fascinated by these abandoned spaces, where nature would overtake the
place. You’d get these strangler figs where the tree roots would come down the
walls of the buildings, like taking back was once nature.”
“We’ve come in, we’ve cleared the land, knocked down all the trees and built
this building, house or factory there. And once we’ve finished with that space,
we’ve just left it, and then nature has come back to reclaim that space,” Mr
Bushell said.
But it was before graduating with a Bachelor of Design and Communication
and minor in Photography from the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC),
when Matt’s unique gift was formally recognised.
In 2017, his USC photography lecturer, Dr Debra Livingstone invited him to
partake at the exhibition, ‘How the Light Gets In’ at USC Art Gallery, where
viewers explored the unimagined possibilities of digital photography that
‘stimulates the mind, emotion and imagination’.
Matt’s upcoming collection at Max Galleria promises to be no exception.
Escaping through an adventurous portal of heterotopic spaces, he allows you to reflect on a social culture time has forgotten.
“I think we are losing our industrial past. In fact, from the 80s onwards, we’ve
slowly lost it all. We used to make everything in Australia, whereas now
everything’s imported,” he said.
“You drive into the big cities these days and you see these big warehouses, but
they’re not making anything. We’ve got no textile factories that produce
products. We used to make trains here, but now we just import them from India and other countries.
“So, I think it is important to document an industry that was once quite a thing
here in Australia.”
Matt has achieved this with a 240-page anthological masterpiece.
Published by Schiffer Publishing, ‘Memories of Australia –
Abandoned Buildings and Their Stories’ will transport you through a nostalgic
lens, leaving you mesmerised.
Aside from its aesthetic quality that adds character to living spaces, it serves as
a coffee table book at best for sparking conversation.
A timeless classic of urban exploration across varying landscapes, it educates
and inspires thought-provoking reflections of Australia’s heritage.
“I think it’s nice to see nice, shiny relics in a museum, but I think an abandoned
building is a lot stronger as it shows how it actually operated and how the place
functioned ‘back in the day’,” he said.
“It’s almost like time has stopped; like the workers were working one day, then
left the next”.
With his third exhibition underway, Matt reminds audiences this exhibition is more than a photographic collection of dilapidated monstrosities.
“Some people may say these buildings should be demolished as they’re a bit of
any eyesore and bad for the community. But once they see the photos of these
places, the first reaction is, ‘oh, wow, this is so amazing – look at this place’!”
Ms Stibbe looks forward to providing her space again for an artist she sees
plays a pivotal role in Australia’s cultural legacy.
“The immensity of Matt Bushell’s adventures across Australia’s decaying landscape and buildings trigger memories of aeons and lifestyles ago.”
“Haunting images of places and things so familiar to the Australian psyche, create a moving, exquisite reflection of Australia and how its culture can deteriorate quickly with mother nature’s growth and loving embrace,” she said.
Proudly sponsored by local business, Scotty’s Pizza, the exhibition will run until February 26, featuring artist talks on February 12, 19 and 26.
Max Galleria is located at 113 Poinciana Ave, Tewantin. See Max Galleria, Maxine Stibbe or Mattamation.
