Foyer Bar

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 14mm · f/8.0 · 4s · ISO 100
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

Empty stools line the counter of the abandoned foyer bar at Bankstown RSL. Dust settles on forgotten bottles and glassware, bathed in the muted light of a past era.

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.

$100.00 AUD

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: Foyer Bar
Series: Bankstown RSL
Catalogue: BRS-013
Process: Giclée
Captured: 6 February 2019
Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter: 4s 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 foyer bar at the Bankstown RSL has red and navy polka-dot carpet that runs wall to wall across the room. The carpet is the dominant visual element, more than any of the bar fittings. A low timber-laminate counter sits to the left, its shelves stripped. Behind it the bar back wall is mirrored, but the mirrors are dim. Lights are off. A single fluorescent at the back of the bar is still on, throwing a thin band of cool light across the carpet. The polka dots are larger than tea-cup saucers and smaller than dinner plates.

RSL foyer bars were the first room visitors saw when they came in off the street. The job of the foyer bar was to be welcoming and busy: a place to stand for a quick beer before going through to the auditorium, the bistro, or the gaming room. Bankstown's foyer used red and navy as a kind of heraldic combination, picking up the RSL movement's red poppy and naval blue. The polka dots were a 1970s-or-1980s flourish, ordered by the carpet metre and laid right through to the bistro entry. The Bankstown RSL was demolished in March 2019. The polka-dot carpet was rolled up before demolition. Where it went is not recorded.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

Red and navy polka-dot carpet stretches wall to wall across the foyer bar. A low timber-laminate counter sits to the left, its shelves stripped bare. Blue corrugated cladding lines both walls, rising to a deep pink soffit that drops the ceiling down heavy and close. Framed artworks still hang on the right side, their illustrations showing harbourside cityscapes in pinks and golds. Recessed downlights sit dead in their housings. The air looks thick and still.

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.

Anatomy · true ratio