Switchback at Waterfall Sanatorium, a long corridor stretches deep into the building, flanked by brown brick walls thick.
Switchback at Waterfall Sanatorium, a long corridor stretches deep into the building, flanked by brown brick walls thick.

Switchback

Provenance

Camera
NIKON D850
Lens
14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings
14mm · f/8.0 · 1/25 · ISO 100
Paper
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

A switchback staircase ascends within the abandoned Waterfall Sanatorium. Dust mutes the light filtering through grimy windows, illuminating traces of a forgotten medical history. The silence here is profound.

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
Size
Type
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.
See certificate sample →

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In situ

Switchback at Waterfall Sanatorium, a long corridor stretches deep into the building, flanked by brown brick walls thick.Switchback at Waterfall Sanatorium, a long corridor stretches deep into the building, flanked by brown brick walls thick.Switchback at Waterfall Sanatorium, a long corridor stretches deep into the building, flanked by brown brick walls thick.Switchback at Waterfall Sanatorium, a long corridor stretches deep into the building, flanked by brown brick walls thick.Switchback at Waterfall Sanatorium, a long corridor stretches deep into the building, flanked by brown brick walls thick.
01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title
Switchback
Series
Waterfall Sanatorium
Catalogue
WSA-044
Process
Giclée
Captured
24 June 2018
Camera
NIKON D850
Lens
14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture
f/8.0
Shutter
1/25 s
ISO
100
Focal length
14 mm
Paper
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Paper size
290 × 200 mm
Location
Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia
Authenticity
C2PA verified provenance →
Recognised by
Highly Commended in Multimedia at the 2016 National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards
03 THE STORY

About this print

A switchback staircase rises within one of the buildings at Waterfall Sanatorium. The treads are timber, scuffed at the centre by years of use. The handrails follow the line of the stair through each turn of the switchback. The walls of the shaft are plastered and painted, the paint peeling in patches. Dust mutes the light entering through the grimy windows at the landings.

Waterfall opened on 14 April 1909 as the Hospital for Consumptives, NSW. The hospital was renamed Waterfall Sanatorium around 1912 and reached 788 patients by 1919. The sanatorium closed in 1958 when antibiotic therapy and thoracic surgery made the isolation model unnecessary. The older ward buildings have stood largely disused since on the wider site.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

A long corridor stretches deep into the building, flanked by brown brick walls thick with layered graffiti. Steel railings run parallel on the left side, bolted between slim columns. Sunlight falls through windows in hard rectangles across the concrete floor. Grit and loose wire sit undisturbed. The ceiling is flat, painted white, water-stained in places. At the far end, the passage narrows to an archway.

Brett Patman

Waterfall Sanatorium

The series

Waterfall Sanatorium

2016–2018 · 54 photographs

The first patients arrived at the Hospital for Consumptives, Waterfall on 14 April 1909, with initial provision for 180 men. A women's wing opened in May 1912 for 120; by 1919 it had become the largest sanatorium in New South Wales, holding 788 patients. The site sat at about 1,000 feet (305 m), 26 miles (42 km) south of Sydney, on the medical theory that tuberculosis needed 'high and rarefied atmosphere in the country away from the grime and pollution of cities'.

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
07 MORE FROM WATERFALL SANATORIUM

53 other prints in this series

All prints
Bathrooms at Waterfall Sanatorium, a brown vinyl armchair sits centre-frame on a floor thick with plaster dust and debris.
Bathrooms $100.00
Looking Out at Waterfall Sanatorium, broken windows viewing out towards the overgrown grounds of Waterfall Sanatorium.
Looking Out $100.00
Hanging Garden at Waterfall Sanatorium, a fern growing in brickwork between two bathroom doors.
Hanging Garden $100.00
Washroom at Waterfall Sanatorium, a narrow brick corridor opens toward a bank of timber-framed windows.
Washroom $100.00
08 BY POST · NO SPAM

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