About Last Night

[Social Documentary]

About Last Night is a chapter in an broader project about Drinking Culture within Australia, photographed in Naarm, Melbourne on the last night of the year: December 31st. New Years Eve is a portal; the liminal space between one years end and the next's beginning. A lawless, transient state. 

 The night begins with palpable the feeling of anticipation, excitement; promising a fresh start. Families gather to watch fireworks, music fills the street. Couples wait in anticipation for their midnight kiss. Projection clocks count down the hours and minutes to midnight. 

The end of the night is a stark contrast. The streets are awash with people openly drinking and abandoning unwanted pieces of clothing; their paths intercept with those just trying to get home. The night ends for some, in handcuffs - sitting in the gutter.    

Once the crowds dissipate all and excitement has faded all that is left is detritus as the dust settles from the chaos and mayhem; the air is peppered with the lingering scent of smoke and horse shit. January 1st is a new day, last night is all but a distant memory.