Ultimo Road Silhouette

The most interesting place in Sydney

Earlier this year I was asked to take part in a group exhibition called My Chinatown, put on by Soul of Chinatown, a great not-for-profit whose mission is to revitalise Sydney's Chinatown through storytelling and community events.

I was flattered to be asked, but didn’t have an image I thought was worth showing. So I panicked and spent a couple of weeks in February shooting exclusively in Haymarket (scroll to the bottom for a few of my outtakes).

The photo I settled on was taken through the doorway of Dong Nam A greengrocer on Ultimo Road.

The shop’s tastefully delapidated exterior and sunset-facing position on the corner Thomas Street have made it a staple of Sydney street photography, but Dong Nam A also says a lot about the changing face of Chinatown. The family business was established by Vietnamese refugees in the seventies and is now run by their son Chris, a former banker with a passion for the area.

To cut right to the chase, despite a lovely launch event and a lot of community support, the picture didn’t sell. So I’m left with a framed 18” x 13” print produced by master printer Iain at Charing Cross Photo, which is now taking up space in my apartment.

It’s an edition of one, which makes it super rare and covetable (right?) and it can be yours for $300, with free delivery in Sydney. Just reply to this email if you’re interested.

My lovely wife Hannah (we got married in the long gap between newsletters) also had a picture in the show, which also features a solo female subject. I think they make a great diptych, and I’m sure we could do a package deal.

Maybe you just like hers better. You can tell me.

Anyway, the whole thing was a great experience and we met a bunch of interesting artists who are also inspired by the area. I’d highly recommend checking out painter Bryan Mew and photographer John Puah in particular.

I suspect this is just the beginning of my Chinatown era. It’s easily the most interesting place in Sydney and I’ve already got an idea for a larger project based here. I’ll keep you posted on that, but in the meantime here are a few images from my mad dash to take an exhibitable picture in the early days of the Year of the Snake.