I was in Makassar for work when this group of teenage boys asked for photos.
They lined up in front of a faded red tourism sign, styled in early 2000s grunge and internet metal graphics. Oversized denim. Cigarettes. Hard stares. ‘Lookmaxxing’ the TikTok-born ritual of optimising your physical attractiveness.
What struck me was the sunglasses. They only had one pair between them. Some wore them. Some didn’t. The glasses moved easily from hand to hand, no hesitation, no ownership drama. In a city where money is tight and resources are thin, sharing is normal. When you grow up with less, you rely on each other more. The aesthetic was global. The behaviour was local. They were awkward, performative, figuring themselves out like teenage boys everywhere do. But the gesture of passing that one pair of wraparounds sunnies around felt like a big coming of age gesture.
Photographed for @airbnb with @_specialpr this work followed hosts across Southeast Asia, from Da Nang, to Ubud, to Moalboal.
What interested me wasn’t travel, but what happens when people are able to build something where they already live. Hosting becomes a form of entrepreneurship, creating work, keeping families together, and circulating income locally. The places are beautiful, but what sustains them is people taking responsibility for their own backyard and whom they invite to enjoy that.
Biophilia Festival, Australia Day long weekend. Around 300 people in attendance.
This continues an ongoing, Avedon-style portrait series I’ve been working on, a fixed frame, neutral ground, no performance.
The Photo Booth was accepted without much explanation. People stepped in, stood still, and met the lens. They voted with their presence.
The series continues at privately run bush doofs. Thanks to everyone who volunteered. A few frames that stayed with me I’d like to share.
