Fast disappearing from Sydney streets, the milk bar memory is being kept alive on banners across the city for this year's Art & About Sydney.
The usual – a can of Passiona, a mixed bag of lollies and a bottle of milk for mum. A popular hang-out spot after school, most suburban homes used to be within walking distance of a milk bar. Built on immigration, small family business and neighbourhood communities, they were the much-loved local hub for everyone's needs. Art & About Sydney is bringing the milk bar back, with award-winning artist Eamon Donnelly's photographs.
Internationally acclaimed artist and illustrator, Eamon has been photographing the Australian milk bar and documenting its past for over a decade as apart of 'The Island Continent' digital gallery and archive. Displaying his images of the fading Australian icon high over the city, Eamon will showcase the festival's 'endangered' theme with a suburban edge.With over 200 milk bars featured, Eamon has thousands of images of fading signs, dusty shelves, paper straws and metal cups. Out of these, 100 images will be displayed on 500 of Sydney's banner poles that are usually reserved for advertising – forming Art & About's popular Banner Gallery. Lining George, William, Oxford and Redferm Streets as well as Martin Place and Glebe Point Road, 20 large-scale images will also be on display at World Square.
Growing up in Geelong, Eamon remembers his local milk bar. "At age seven, it was my first taste of independence, riding down the back lane to 'Dave’s' for some mixed lollies, a milkshake, sausage roll or an ice-cream,” he says. But when Eamon returned to Geelong ten years ago and realised that 'Dave's' had gone along with many other milk bars, he started to take pictures of them.My Milk Bars have taken over the streets of Sydney! @Artandaboutsyd @cityofsydney #artandabout pic.twitter.com/cKGQNiBSV7
— Eamon Donnelly (@EamoDonnelly) September 18, 2014“It made me realise that something was happening within our suburban landscape, an Australian icon was disappearing like an ice-cream melting in the hot summer’s sun... The milk bar was Australia condensed to a corner business. It was family, community, friendly service, the migrant success story. You got your news of the world from there, the weekly food supplies, life advice from the owner who knew your name, you watched their children grow up, and they watched yours.”
Exploring the history of the milk bar in Australia, Eamon Donnelly's photographs can be seen throughout Sydney from the 19th September until 12th October as apart of Art & About Sydney.
