Love Hearts for Lunch

In late 2006, the CSIRO (Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) gave me permission to photograph the beautiful grounds of their Sustainable Ecosystems offices in Canberra. Once the stately home of a pioneering family, the white-washed walls of Gungahlin Homestead were completed in 1865 and whisper a tale of heart break — on 26 February 1877, owner William Davis Junior lost his nephew, whom he considered a son, in a tragic horse-riding accident. Devastated, a man so rich he hosted balls that ended with displays of fireworks, sold his land and abandoned the district.

I used this story as the starting point for two images I exhibited in Wasteland, a group show at Belconnen Gallery that asked Canberra photographers to consider their local landscape, both physical and emotional. You can read more about that here.

This image, however, is an “out-take” from that shoot. I think I’m a very structured photographer because I love the arrangement of windows and benches in a courtyard where modern-day employees sit to eat their lunch. The tiny hearts in the foreground seat are simply adorable — imagine having a spot like this at work!

Hmm … I like this picture so much I think it’s time to re-visit that shoot and create a series.