PRINCESS PARK, CARLTON
‘Marco Garbage’
(Hundreds of shredded pieces of rubbish lying in the surrounding park areas)

‘Marco Flora’
(A collection of patterns and shapes from the trees and plants located in the park)

Sarah’s perspective of Princess Park was intriguing, she noted that when she visits she plays sports and sees the location as a whole rather than “honing in on things individually”. She notes she almost takes the park for granted never spending time to really ‘view’ it and rather just engulfs herself in the more open spaces and observes with a wide gaze. This contrasted the way I viewed the park with a ‘Marco lens’ rather than as a whole picture. I usually zone in on things often as I’m always interested in patterns, shapes and objects. My gaze through the camera captured a lot of attention to detail- there was always something to ‘collect’ when observing. I found that there were two contrasting elements when observing, again taking inspiration from Patrick Pound i decided to turn these two elements into categories.

Firstly was the amount of rubbish in the area. I knew there was going to be some rubbish but when I viewed the area carefully and slowly I noticed there were hundreds of small pieces of rubbish that an individual might not even notice if they didn’t have a gaze towards the ground. When talking to Sarah she confirmed that when she visited the place the rubbish wasn’t as easily noticed, again I would assume this could be due to keeping eyes leveled and viewing the park with a wider perspective.

My second main observation was the patterns of nature. I found it really interesting how much the images of rubbish contrasted the images of trees, leaves and sunlight. Both sets of images gave off different vibes yet in reality the images weren’t taken that far apart.

Finally I’d also like to note the sounds that were heard in and around the park. I definitely took note of how loud the surrounding traffic was and how hard it was to block it out- this happened in various areas of the park and was hard to escape. After talking to Sarah and letting her know of my experiences it was interesting to note that how when she visited the Park the traffic was ‘blocked out’ and not particularly noticed. She noted this is potentially due to living near a main road and having more of a selective hearing. She also noted that when she normally visits the park, most of the time shes wearing headphones- which of course blocks out the chugging sounds of city traffic.

AUDIO FROM INSIDE PARK

After getting Sarah’s opinions and experiences from my footage it was time to flip the switch and for me to examine her media. I chose Abbotsford Convent for a location that I have a connection to. I’m not a fan of the city but Abbotsford sets a completely different atmosphere, it’s much more lush and green than most areas and the convent itself is up kept to a pristine condition. I enjoyed seeing Sarah use a ‘macro’ perspective when collecting media, I feel that it’s similar to how I view the place. As a whole the convent is beautiful but it isn’t until you look up close do you see things of wonder and interest- I also find it interesting that with her extreme close-up photographs I can still place and note where they were taken (an ode to my love and frequent visits to the convent). I find it interesting that there’s a little contrast between the natural elements and man made structures (that is similar to my own media with rubbish and nature). Finally I also enjoyed Sarah’s take on the geometrical patterns and shapes that can be found around the convent, it reflects the artistic nature of the place and I think captures the essence well.

Above: Photographs of Sarahs Media including close ups of flora, geometrical patterns and structures.