Spotlights

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 14mm · f/7.1 · 2s · ISO 800
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

The stage lights of Bankstown RSL project sharp, defined beams. They cut through the gloom, highlighting the dust and emptiness of the abandoned club’s vast auditorium. A forgotten era of entertainment remains.

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: Spotlights
Series: Bankstown RSL
Catalogue: BRS-022
Process: Giclée
Captured: 6 February 2019
Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter: 2s s
ISO: 800
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

A bank of stage spotlights at the Bankstown RSL hangs from the ceiling above the auditorium floor, the fixtures mounted on a parallel-bar truss that runs the width of the stage. The lights are par cans and Fresnel fixtures, mixed across the truss in the standard auditorium pattern. Coloured gels are still clipped into the front of several fixtures: red, blue, amber, green. The cabling drops back to a junction box at the truss end, the runs visible as black lines against the salmon-pink acoustic panels of the ceiling above. Most of the bulbs in the fixtures are dead. One par can has been removed from the truss, leaving a gap and a length of bare cable hanging.

Stage lighting rigs at this scale were standard in the large suburban entertainment venues of the 1970s and 1980s, sized for the touring acts and the in-house dance bands that played the western Sydney circuit. The Bankstown RSL's auditorium ran a full lighting and sound rig across the room, with the rear of the stage masked behind the heavy black curtains visible at the end of the truss. The rig was disconnected before demolition. The Bankstown RSL was demolished in March 2019. The lighting truss in this photograph went the same way as the rest of the room.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

A stage spotlight on a tripod stands in a small backstage room lined with dark timber veneer panelling. Brown carpet covers the floor, scattered with plaster fragments and loose cables. A narrow horizontal window opens onto the main hall beyond, its blue walls and pink trim still visible. A fixed timber bench runs along the wall beneath the window. A handwritten label above the glass reads "STAGE RIGHT." The air looks thick with dust.

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.