Auditorium

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 14mm · f/8.0 · 1.6s · ISO 100
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

The vast auditorium of Bankstown RSL stands desolate. Rows of faded seats face a silent stage, awaiting an audience that will never arrive. Dust covers every surface, marking the quiet end of its community purpose.

Edition

Open edition

Open edition
Printed to order, no fixed quantity. Each print is hand-signed by the photographer.

Limited edition
A fixed number of prints exist. Once sold, the edition closes permanently. Each print is individually numbered and signed.

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Colour

Signed, numbered, with COA. Made to order in 10 to 20 business days (framed). Shipped in protective packaging with edition certificate, paper-stock reference and a printed care guide.

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In situ

01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title: Auditorium
Series: Bankstown RSL
Catalogue: BRS-001
Process: Giclée
Captured: 6 February 2019
Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter: 1.6s s
ISO: 100
Focal length: 14 mm
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Paper size: 290 × 200 mm
Location: Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia
Authenticity: C2PA verified provenance →
Recognised by: Highly Commended in Multimedia at the 2016 National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards

02 LOCATION

Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

03 THE STORY

About this print

The Bankstown RSL auditorium is a wide, low-ceilinged ballroom that runs the depth of the building. The ceiling is gridded with salmon-pink acoustic panels, each panel studded with a small downlight or speaker grille. Most of the downlights are dead. The carpet on the floor is the same salmon shade, worn at the edges and patched in places. Rows of stacked banquet chairs are pushed to the side walls. At the far end, the stage is darkened, the curtain drawn back. The framing is symmetrical, the geometry of the panel grid the strongest design element in the room.

The Bankstown RSL was founded in 1928 by returned First World War servicemen and grew through the postwar decades into one of Sydney's largest suburban clubs. The auditorium hosted weddings, balls, two-up nights, and the entertainment circuit that worked the western suburbs from the 1960s onwards. Bands played here. Comedians played here. By the 2010s the club's membership had aged off and the venue had wound down. The Bankstown RSL was demolished in March 2019. This photograph was made in February 2019, weeks before the building came down. The auditorium is gone now, salmon-pink panels and all.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

A vast ballroom stretches toward a darkened stage at the far wall. Salmon-pink acoustic panels grid the ceiling, studded with dead downlights and empty speaker mounts. The walls are painted a flat powder blue. Air conditioning units sit dormant along the upper edges. Herringbone parquetry covers the floor, its lacquer worn to grey in wide arcs where feet moved most. Strips of rolled carpet lie bundled against one wall. The room is silent and dry.

Brett Patman

The series

Bankstown RSL

2019 · 30 photographs

On 17 September 1928, 26 returned servicemen of the 1914 to 1918 war founded the City of Bankstown RSL sub-Branch. The clubhouse at 1 Meredith Street opened in 1955, with blue walls under bright red ceilings. The underground sports complex originally held a swimming pool, a squash court, a gym, and a sauna.

View all in this series →

05 SIZE GUIDE

Print sizes

The anatomy view shows what this finish is as a physical object: paper margin, mat band, frame depth, acrylic profile. The comparison strip shows how each size sits relative to the others at true scale. Click a size or a finish to update both.