Exhibited
2002: Global Gallery, Syndey NSW

This work grew out of a fascination with historical locations of the past that have been transformed into tourist attractions. It explores our pre-conceived impressions of such sites and how these mental images impact on our experience. Sometimes the real thing matches up to our expectation while at other times the reality is somewhat different from what we imagined. This work was photographed at Versailles, France, in the depths of winter.

Versailles is just one of many locations on the European travellers itinerary. At Versailles you can wander through Louis XVI bedroom or gaze at the view Marie-Antoinette contemplated before she was lead a way to Paris and the guillotine. The rooms and grounds are mostly quiet, the spaces occupied only briefly by tourists who pass by in small groups. The statues once photographed by the French Photographer Atget are concealed by tarpaulins, their form hidden from prying eyes and the ravagers of the weather. Such images give us an insight into another time, preserved forever as a famous site in both film and reality.