Spring Valve

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Settings: 36mm · f/16.0 · 3s · ISO 100
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

Inside the derelict Bradmill Denim factory, a spring valve shows the wear of time. Grime and rust texture its surface, a remnant of its industrial 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.

$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: Spring Valve
Series: Bradmill Denim
Catalogue: BDE-023
Process: Giclée
Captured: 18 March 2012
Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Aperture: f/16.0
Shutter: 3s s
ISO: 100
Focal length: 36 mm
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Paper size: 290 × 200 mm
Location: Yarraville, Victoria, Australia
Authenticity: C2PA verified provenance →
Recognised by: Highly Commended in Multimedia at the 2016 National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards

02 LOCATION

Yarraville, Victoria, Australia

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

03 THE STORY

About this print

A spring valve sits inside the disused plant at Bradmill, Yarraville. The valve is heavy industrial brass and steel, fitted into a pipework run that has been broken at one end. The spring mechanism is intact, the actuator wheel still attached, the markings on the body still legible through the grime. The valve is part of the steam-supply network that fed the production lines.

Bradmill at Yarraville ran spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing across multiple connected buildings, with the boiler house and steam-supply network linking them. Bradmill Industries Ltd was Australia's largest textile manufacturer at its 1970s peak. The Yarraville site was pushed into receivership in the early 2000s and shuttered around 2002. The site sat dormant for around two decades before Frasers Property Australia and Irongate acquired it for redevelopment.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

A heavy cast-iron valve assembly dominates the right of frame, its spring mechanism coiled tight beneath a thick layer of grime and oxidisation. Pipework runs in every direction behind it, crossing steel columns and red brick walls. Light falls through corrugated sheeting above, striping the interior with narrow bands of grey and warm amber. The concrete floor is covered in fine dust and debris. The air in here would taste of iron and damp brick.

Brett Patman

The series

Bradmill Denim

2011 · 27 photographs

The Bradford family founded Bradford Cotton Mills in Sydney in 1927. The company expanded into Victoria in 1940, began producing denim in 1945, and grew into Bradmill Industries Ltd. The Yarraville factory on Francis Street was the country's only indigo denim mill.

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.