Here’s a small Q&A with Jon Lister about his project Parramatta road. His images are colorful and almost surreal, like you are transported to a Barbie world.
Jon, please tell us a bit about yourself
I’m from Sydney, Australia. Apart from a stint as a picture editor at the Independent newspaper in London during the late eighties, I have been a freelance photographer for over 30 years.
What inspired you to become a photographer?
I honestly can’t remember what the initial inspiration might have been. Seeing Antonioni’s “Blow Up” whilst still at high school made me aware of photography and reading “Dispatches” by Michael Herr certainly left an impression. What I do know is that I have been obsessed with all things photographic ever since.
I have lived most of my working life through photography and a great deal of my life experience has been because of photography.
Where were these series of images shot?
Parramatta Road is a major east – west link road in Sydney, Australia, connecting the western suburbs with the city and beyond.
Home to brothels, bridal shops and 67% of Sydney’s car dealerships amongst other things. Its origins date from around 1790.
Why did you want to shoot it?
I just liked how it looked. Apparently, someone once said : “Every chapter of Sydney’s history has been written on Parramatta Road”. I’m not sure what they meant by that but certainly anyone who lives in Sydney becomes aware of Parramatta Road.
If they are really unlucky they might have to use it to commute to work, suffering its endless traffic jams and stop lights. Despite its short comings as major transport link, it has a unique character.
Initially it was the colour of some of the buildings that got me. That and the fact that every time I drove along it something had changed; shops closed down, a new one opened. Sometimes a shop would simply be abandoned, its stock just left there. The facade of a building would be an entirely different colour.
I would rarely see any people on the street unless they were looking for a way to leave. It was intriguing. And then I read that the State Government was planning a major “revitalisation” of Parramatta Road.
Parramatta Road is around 20 kilometres in length and I covered it in sections just walking and walking, photographing as I went. I returned to some places several times to take advantage of the changing light.
What camera did you use and why?
I began with a Nikon F6 and a 17-35 shooting expired Fuji 800 and finished with a Leica M8 and a 28. Occasionally I used a 50. I liked the colours from the M8 – very Kodak.
Any anecdotes?
Not about this.
Any closing comments?
Several years later and a lot of what I had photographed is either gone or has changed again. Revitalisation has begun.
Thanks Jon, for these images and answers. Look forward to more of Jon in an upcoming issue of Inspired Eye
