Light is the life-force for all visual artists. I was reminded of this when taking these images of a construction site in a local shopping strip. The tonal values are reminiscent of the mid-19th century artist ST GIll who captured a milky, opalescent, light around rural gold diggings and city streets. It's an uncommon light these days in an age of extreme colour.
These images of a site in Smith Street Collingwood in inner-city Melbourne capture a transitory phase of development making its mark against a backdrop of dignified Victorian buildings constructed while Gill was alive. The once large business houses are about to be dwarfed by this new mega-mart with underground car park.
As developers prefer to keep such construction views away from the gaze of passers-by I needed to stand on the saddle of my bicycle and reach above the temporary high-wall to capture views of modern day gold-mining.This image is a contrast of scarred landscape and early morning late summer light. It's as if one era is overlooking the mechanical diggings from another world connected by era to Gill's renderings.