Finding your way through 52 Suburbs

52 Suburbs is a brilliant blog which casts Sydney as its main character. Each week, Louise Hawson visits a different suburb and, with her camera, transforms a postcode into a beautiful gallery of pictures. I especially love her domino-like pairing of images, where she frames two different snapshots of a place, side-by-side: an architectural detail with someone's face, a tattoo with a dumpling shopfront, a train timetable with a person carrying a boat.

To find out more, I quizzed Louise about her planned trek through 52 suburbs this year.



Do you remember where you were in Sydney when you first got the idea for the blog?
I don’t remember exactly where or when … but I do remember thinking how easy it is to get stuck in your own corner of your city, moving along the same roads, running into the same sort of people. When you travel overseas you break out of these ruts – but when you’re home you can easily shut down and revert to the known.



When I looked at the map of Sydney, I was astonished at how many areas I had no idea about. So I decided to go travelling – in my own city – and at the same time document the type of beauty that I find appealing (the kind which is in danger of disappearing, or is vintage or reborn, etc).



52 Suburbs also satisfies four of my passions in one hit – photography, exploring, writing and random encounters with people you’d never meet otherwise.



I notice in the suburbs so far, you’ve been guided by quite a mix of interesting reasons. How do you decide which place to cover?
I have no master plan, no chart on my wall with 52 suburbs mapped out. Partly because I have committed myself to this for a whole year, I reckon I can at least allow myself some spontaneity in choosing the next suburb. That approach also means I can be flexible – if I hear of an interesting event coming up in a suburb I’ve always wanted to visit or if someone recommends a suburb I hadn’t thought of, I can make that my next stop.



Having said that, I am attracted to suburbs that are either culturally intriguing or architecturally blessed. Or those that I have never ever heard of and have absolutely zero idea what they may be like.



What are the most remarkable or surprising things you’ve discovered so far? Did you discover new favourite buildings or architectural details?
Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I visited Lakemba. I was fascinated by just how Islamic it is. Rose Seidler House and its setting also took my breath away – I just wanted to stay and move in. And I was amazed at how such a small suburb as Potts Point can contain so many architectural riches.



My favourites? 1950s architecture is hard to beat. But I also am slightly obsessed with a variety of details ranging from old signs and iron fences to wooden letterboxes in art deco apartment blocks and mosaic floor tiles.



Can you tell me a little about where you grew up in Sydney and how much you think it has changed since?
I was born in Sydney but I actually grew up in Hong Kong and didn’t live in Sydney again until I was in my teens. What I remember thinking, when we’d come back to Sydney to visit family, was how empty it was and how blue the sky was! When I eventually returned to live in Sydney I couldn’t believe how quiet Sundays were. Thankfully the city is far more vibrant now.



How easy/hard is it to undergo a project like this – are people inviting or wary when you bring out your camera?
I’ve found most people are happy to have their photo snapped. I think it’s the way you approach them and the fact that I’m obviously genuinely interested in them and their culture or lifestyle. In turn, they seem quite interested in my project so they’re happy to be part of it, I guess.



What do you do outside of the blog – do you have a photography background?
I’m very curious so I’ve tried my hand at a few things, from copywriting to TV producing and independent documentary-making. But it’s always about ideas and the visual. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a photojournalist, a documentary maker or a designer. Strangely enough, making 52 Suburbs is probably the closest I’ve come to combining all my passions and obsessions. I am happiest with a camera in my hand and a corner to turn.



You’re interested in capturing the “repurposed, recycled, reborn” parts of Sydney, as well as a mix of weathered, vintage and new. What draws you to these qualities.
By reborn and repurposed, I’m thinking about places such as CarriageWorks, Ballast Park and Paddington Reservoir, where an older space is given new life without having its history and soul destroyed. I just find that so much more inspiring and enriching than a brand new development that either looks too much like a million other bland developments or so bad it sticks out like an ugly scar on the environment.

What I hope to find on my travels are more examples of the ‘reborn’ in lesser known suburbs of Sydney.



As for the ‘vintage’ side of things, there is just something so appealing about an era of design like the 1950s, with its focus on simple lines and connection with the environment.



What do you have coming up next – which suburbs do you have in your sights and have you chosen them for particular reasons?
Well, as I said earlier I don’t plan too far in advance. But this week I’m visiting Cabramatta and in the coming weeks, I hope to make it to suburbs such as Eveleigh, Campsie and Castlecrag. Two of these suburbs I’m familiar with and two I’ve never been to, but I’m sure they’ll all be very different to one another – which is exactly what 52 Suburbs is all about.



Besides the “beaches and sunshine” cliché, what do you think makes Sydney unique to you?
How multicultural it is and as a result, how lucky we are to have our main streets filled with grub from all over the planet. That and the God-given right to wear thongs (the foot variety) wherever and whenever you wish.



Follow Louise Hawson's personal excursions through Sydney at
www.52suburbs.com.

Lee Tran, deputy chief sub-editor