Before It Is Gone Forever ANDREW CHAPMAN RECORDS AUSTRALIA’S INDUSTRIAL DECLINE
WE’VE SEEN SEISMIC CHANGES IN THE industrial landscape of this country in the past couple of years. Most significant are the failure of the car industry and the controversy over ageing coal-fired electricity plants. As a State, Victoria has taken the brunt with the withdrawal of major car manufacturers such as Ford and Toyota, and the closure of the Hazelwood power plant.
Melbourne photographer Andrew Chapman – a long-time photojournalist best known for his political work – saw the opportunity to document two of Victoria’s iconic industrial sites before it was too late. He was given extraordinary access to the Hazelwood plant in Morwell and the Ford factory in Broadmeadows, to preserve a part of Victoria’s history soon to be lost under the swing of the wrecking ball.
These two projects reflect Chapman’s love of documenting facets of Australian life that are in peril of disappearing, a passion that stems back to his work on shearers. Over
