Valves

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Settings: 48mm · f/4.5 · 2.5s · ISO 100
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

Rusty valves control defunct machinery inside the former Bradmill Denim factory in Melbourne. These controls once regulated the dyeing process, now silent and still.

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: Valves
Series: Bradmill Denim
Catalogue: BDE-026
Process: Giclée
Captured: 18 March 2012
Camera: NIKON D7000
Lens: AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Aperture: f/4.5
Shutter: 2.5s s
ISO: 100
Focal length: 48 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 bank of valves stands inside the disused plant at Bradmill, Yarraville. The valves are heavy industrial cast iron and brass, fitted into a manifold across the wall. Each valve carries the maker's plate at the body, the markings still legible through the rust and grime. The actuator wheels are intact, set in their last operational positions. The valves were part of the dyeing or finishing circuit at the plant.

Bradmill at Yarraville carried out cotton spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing for denim and workwear fabrics through the second half of the twentieth century. From 1945 the site produced denim, and from 1962 the first indigo-dyed denim made in Australia. Bradmill Industries Ltd was the country's largest textile manufacturer at its 1970s peak. The Yarraville site was pushed into receivership in the early 2000s and shuttered around 2002.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

Cast-iron valve wheels line a steel manifold, their spokes thick with grease and grime. A large cylindrical vessel stands to the left, bolted and dark with oxidation. Overhead pipes angle downward into shadow. Beyond the machinery, daylight spills through an opening onto exposed red brick. The floor is black, slick with decades of residue. The air here would smell of rust and old oil.

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.