Date: 09/11/2008
Location: Brunswick Brickworks
Where: Inner Melbourne
It’s funny when you drive past a place a million times and never see it. We’d known of the place for such a long time and just never got around to visiting - until, coming back from the airport I SMS’d my friend quickly to mention I “just saw the most awesome place” and upon a quick street directory search, realised it was where we were planning on going in a few days time!
The brickworks were also a bit of a nostalgic visit - my first proper exploration was in the Surrey Hills Brickworks over 10 years ago - they captured my imagination and influenced so much of my creative endeavours for years to come. And they still do. I visit them a few times a year now, and notice the graffiti get worse, new holes appear and are patched up in fences, occasionally some material is removed, and of course, dirty mags come and go as much as the pigeons do.
So it was with a bit of a surprise to see these Brickworks built in the same era as the Surrey Hills ones - the same machinery, similar layout, only much bigger - and more machinery in tact. There are still two kilns left, too, with the tower of one as a “feature” among the newly developed housing. It’s kind of odd being inside this dilapidated building, and looking over your shoulder into someone’s living room. Coolest apartments ever, if you ask me. It does make me wonder why they only got around to knocking half of it down - probably ran out of money.
It’s a place i’d definitely visit again, probably to do some more model-style shooting, since it’s relatively clean and safe, and with all the high-visibility housing development around, it sort of feeling like an amusement park where your mother is watching you, than exploring some dangerous place where a junkie might stab you with a syringe.
Anyway - enjoy the pics!
