You know Dubai, right? Just take a look at those before and after photos. In the space of a few short years, they’ve turned the place into just some town in the desert into a thriving megacity. They even have the world’s tallest building! I think it is, anyway…maybe I should look into that. Thing is, with everything that I see being shared on social media, change is something that fascinates everyone. Look how much weight she lost! Look at him before he started uni and now that his spirit has been crushed! Check out this place that’s been totally renovated into a homemaker’s dream!
You know, that stuff. Maybe it’s just my love of change. There’s nothing I love more than seeing all those planks and trestles up all over a place, meaning that it’s ready to start a bit of juicy renovation. That’s what aluminium platforms represent to me: change. Positive change, usually.
So that’s what I’m proposing here: a coffee table book of befores and afters, with the most dramatic changes that will make people want to keep turning the pages. I have a sizable collection of images that I’ve collected over the years, because change will always be fascinating and I try to document it wherever I see it.
I’m imagining a full-colour spread of the Flinders Street Station renovation that took place in 1956. A lot of people seem to think that the building pretty much just looks the same now as it did then, but little do they know, it went through some massive changes! The windows were all double-glazed, the signs were given a fresh coat of paint and they sanded back a few of the stones that had become worn by the elements. The before and afters are astounding, as are the pictures that show all the mobile scaffolding set up. I took it with my old polaroid camera back in the day…and things continue to change. It’d be nice if we could remember how things were.
-Alfred