Matt and Lilly

In 1999 I was commissioned to produce a work for the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival.

That work became Sydneysiders, the family photo album of a city. It was all about the people of the city during the build up to the Olympic Games.

One day walking back from the supermarket in Newtown, I noticed Matt and Lilly with daughter Darcy and a small white dog heading in the opposite direction, a young family out for a stroll, they also happened to be Goths Dressed head to toe in black.

Like a mad woman I chased them down the street, and breathlessly asked if I could photograph them for my project. They happily agreed : the first shoot was at their home, a single story terrace with white picket fence in Marrickville. Lilly was expecting so I arranged to re-shoot them when the baby arrived. The image that appeared in Sydneysiders is this shoot, with young Gentle joining the family.

I have since photographed their wedding held in a cemetery down the road from where I first spotted them. Gentle has started school and now has a younger sister, Winter.

I will be photographing them again, this time for an ongoing project on Newtown.

We only see each other on odd occasions, but they have become good friends, and I hope to continue photographing their growing family.