The Bois & Charbons (wood & coal) sign-writing on this Melbourne building suggests advertising from another age.
The building is part of the Abbotsford Convent Arts Centre, though it is neglected and apparently unused. When I took the photo, I did wonder how a French coal merchant came to have premises within an Australian convent, but stranger things have undoubtedly happened.
Although I took the shot over a year ago, I’ve largely ignored it. The presence of air-conditioning units, steel barrels, and other signs of modernity detract from the assumed authenticity of a piece of Melbourne’s past. They interrupt a nostalgic, romanticized reading of the scene.
What changed my mind is knowing that the Bois & Charbons signage is fake. It was painted in 1987 when the building was used in as a location in the filming of a TV series about Nancy Wake, a WWII heroine of the French Resistance.
As a medium, photography allows and encourages us to play with notions of reality and authenticity.
Something we all need to remember when we consider the old idiom “a picture paints a thousand words.”
Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge is hosted at Lens and Pens by Sally.
Lovely old building.
Leslie
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Thanks Leslie. I do love old decayed buildings!
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They all have a story to tell, Su.
Leslie
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I love that this one has such mixed stories.
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Yes indeed.
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Great shot. The processing adds to the decrepitude.
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Thanks Suzanne. Photo editing is such a great form of play.
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It’s sort of a “what’s wrong with this picture” – the AC units being the giveaway that perhaps not all is as it initially seems.
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What a great reveal!
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Thanks Amy. I love finding out stuff like that.
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Yoiu’ve done a grand job with the monochrome conversion!
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Thanks Sue 🙂
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Strong re-interpretations, which gives more depth to the story. Happy (last) Photo Challenge.
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Seeing a building like that here in Ontario wouldn’t have made me blink due to our bilingual heritage, but it immediately caught my eye knowing it was in Melbourne. Great back story 🙂
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😃 it did make me wonder how many other buildings/locations are not quite what they seem. I’m afraid any day now I’ll find out that Hobbiton isn’t real and that NZ isn’t actually Middle Earth! 😂
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The entire world would be shocked to discover that! 😉
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You could be right; if the number of tourists descending on a town called Matamata (home of Hobbiton) is any indication!
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Looks great, especially with your superb editing! 😄
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Thank you Sarah. It’s a shot that has soooo much editing potential! Happy weekend to you xxxxxx 😃
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And in these days of all the photography apps, it’s all too easy to have fake photos along with fake news. 🙂 I like both shots and no matter the authenticity of the building/signage/etc., it looks great.
janet
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Thanks Janet. I guess the integrity of a photograph or news story is only as strong as the integrity of those producing it.
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And that’s often not easy to determine, either, unfortunately!
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So true Janet, so true.
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The paint job is very good, the building looks great.
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I suspect that stuff done for film and TV locations is probably to a higher standard than a lot in “real life.”
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