Barren red deserts dotted with post-colonial ghost towns, dilapidated inner city factories, discarded country homesteads and a succession of dormant, soot-filled power stations are just a handful of the desolate, yet visually rich narratives that form part of the abandoned Australian landscape.
Digging beneath the sun-baked soil, Shane Thoms uncovers the modern ruins scattered over this arid continent and reveals a series of beautifully broken abodes hiding in the crevices of the Great Southern Land.
Whispering of both long-gone happy family moments and human darkness, of working lives and the everyday pursuits of living, these atmospheric scenes allow us to reconstruct the stories of the past.
Prompting conversations about a growing, diverse country with a complicated history, these abandoned places both connect as well as contrast the past and the present and chronicle the hidden remnants of the evolving Australian story.
“Inside these ruins we contrast time with the longevity of humanity,” says photographer Shane Thoms. “We face our mortality and realise our existance is brief in comparison to the structures we build and leave behind.Time continues, yet we do not.”
Shane Thoms is a photographer and photojournalist who studied at Monash University in Melbourne. He holds a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication majoring in photography, screen and media.
With a previous focus on the Japanese urban journey, his first book, Haikyo: The Modern Ruins of Japan was released in 2017. His cross cultural photographic work has been featured on BBC, CNN, The Business Insider, Huffington Post and The Daily Mail.
Abandoned Australia is published by Jonglez Publishing and available for all leading book retailers including Booktopia.
Image: Abandoned Australia – courtesy of Jonglez Publishing