By Jo Attard
As the historic site of the old denim factory in Yarraville’s west becomes set for transformation, developers Frazer’s Property invited the community to take part in their Perspectives of the Inner West photography competition, in an effort to discover more about the west’s creative soul. They already knew that the Bradmill site had been a hotspot of artistic and cultural activity whilst sitting empty and derelict for the past 15 years, and yet, organisers were undeniably overwhelmed by the community’s wholehearted response to their project.
Over 1400 entries were received, making the judging process no easy undertaking for the panel of six which included local legend Julian Nagle better known for his culinary expertise and Yarraville restaurant Navi, and Melbourne based photographer, Chris Cincotta, founder of the social media pages @melbourneiloveyou and Humans In Melbourne. Chris was delighted to note that there was a strong sense of community, authenticity, and play running through the extensive entries, something he relished as part of the judging process, and he was pleased to note that all three of the winning images possessed a resilient humility.
Monique Couvee also known as @snapshotdragon entered a warm portrait of her neighbour, in a crowd favourite, My Neighbour Joan. Monique was a first time competition entrant and was thrilled that her piece was so well received. Her 86 year old subject has been a resident of the western suburbs all her life and even worked at the Bradmill factory as a weaver when she was 14 years old. The image made for a befitting third place winner.
Painting the Town Red, White and Blue, was a lucky capture by Merryn Auld, who was in the right place at the right time back in 2016 when the Bulldogs made it into the Grand Final.
Her second place winning image highlights a buoyant moment of westie pride and features Yarraville’s Railway Hotel painted in Bulldog stripes perfectly set behind a station wagon which is similarly painted.
Taking first place was Tim Matthews’ mesmerising image, Footscray Park. A clever pic of his then seven year old son’s reflection in a puddle with one of the park’s iconic palm trees in the background. Tim was a long-time resident of Kingsville who entered four other snaps in the contest which can all be seen on his Instagram page @i_am_naf.
All twelve finalists are on display in a stirring exhibition at Grazeland until May 28th. Together they embody the sincerity of the west despite their unique artistic perspectives. If you miss the display you can catch up via the Bradmill Yarraville Facebook page and keep an eye on the development at the same time.
