‘Super Six’ Roses

‘Super Six’ Roses was photographed against my parent's’ corrugated-asbestos boundary fence. ‘Super Six’ was an affordable fencing solution made by James Hardie, which still forms the side and rear boundaries to many home in my parents’ suburb of Bayonethead (particularly those built before 1990). The sheets were simply dug straight into the ground, and roses seemed to be the preferred plant grown along many a fenceline. I was struck by how vibrant these roses were against my parents’ weathered fence - they appeared to me as prize specimens in an agricultural show - parading individual resilience in the face of sandy soil, wild coastal winds, heavy rain and drought stress.                                                                                                         

From my photowork series Legacy, exhibited @ 44 in Rozelle, NSW, July 2025

The works in this exhibition became a means for me to navigate the emotional complexities of being far from my ageing parents in Albany (Kinjarling), Western Australia (the town where I grew up) as my father’s health declined. Over the past two years I’ve been a frequent visitor to my parents’ home. Just before Dad died in March, I found myself lapping the garden and the orchard, and reflecting on the legacies we inherit, the ones we shape, and what we leave behind for each other.