Powder Room

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 14mm · f/8.0 · 0.8s · ISO 100
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

The powder room at the abandoned Bankstown RSL reveals peeling paint and tarnished mirrors. Dust layers the once-glamorous vanity, a silent witness to forgotten social gatherings.

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: Powder Room
Series: Bankstown RSL
Catalogue: BRS-019
Process: Giclée
Captured: 6 February 2019
Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter: 0.8s 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 powder room at the Bankstown RSL is a separate fitted-out area off the women's bathrooms, with a row of upholstered stools facing a long mirror set above a vanity counter. The vanity is laminated in a marbled cream finish, with chrome edging along its leading edge. Each stool position carries a small task light above the mirror, the bulbs warm rather than fluorescent. The wall behind the mirror is mirrored as well, doubling the apparent depth of the room. The carpet on the floor is patterned in a 1970s geometric, holding up well in the lower-traffic powder area compared with the bathrooms next door. A small built-in shelf along one wall holds a tissue dispenser and a tray for spare cosmetics.

Powder rooms were a defining feature of the larger suburban clubs from the 1950s onwards, sized for the formal events the venue hosted. Bankstown's powder room ran alongside the women's bathrooms on the front-of-house side of the club, where the wedding receptions, debutante balls, and Saturday-night dances passed through. The room had quietly fallen out of regular use by the late 2010s, the formals it was built for now moved to function venues elsewhere. The Bankstown RSL was demolished in March 2019. The powder room is gone with the rest of the building.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

A long vinyl banquette lines the wall beneath a wide mirror. Faded damask wallpaper covers every surface. The carpet is salmon pink, compressed flat, darkened at the edges. Fluorescent panels in the ceiling still hold their plastic diffusers. Through a heavy blue door, a second room opens into deep cobalt. Chequered tile replaces carpet. A no-smoking sign clings to the door frame. Rust bleeds through the blue paint beneath it.

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.