It truly was the end of times for one Fitzroy house in Melbourne’s north. Days before it's set to be demolished, photo artist Emma McEvoy gave tribute to its impermanence by filling the entire house with huge amounts of sand.
McEvoy had recently visited and photographed Namibia, and was struck by the sand-filled houses she saw there. By filling the Melbourne house with sand, she hoped to let viewers experience what she experienced in Namibia.
"The idea to display my images in this way actually came to me while I was shooting in Kolmanskop. I wanted to create this installation in inner city to show people what is happening out there in the world. Sometimes it's easy to disconnect from the impact we are having on our environment when you are living in a big city," McEvoy told BuzzFeed.
To simulate this, McEvoy needed nine tonnes of sand, two truck loads, hundreds of wheelbarrow loads, and some dedicated... and strong... mates to fill the Fitzroy house.
It was also a struggle to find the venue - but when she saw this one through a property developer, she instantly knew it was the perfect setting.
Around 3,000 visitors dropped by over the three days of her exhibit, many overwhelmed by the experience of walking barefoot on the sand and appreciating McEvoy's photographic artworks.
But like most things in life, the installation had to go. The house is set to be demolished on an unspecified date, and the sand has been recycled to fill children's playgrounds.
McEvoy has no plans to exhibit the same installation elsewhere but is open to chatting to anyone who has access to abandoned properties in Sydney.