Searching for a suitable subject for an impeding university documentary assignment, the photographer began exploring a seemingly vacant block of old-factory-type buildings in an inner-Melbourne suburb (Preston). Having settled on these gritty, dilapidated veneers, he unwittingly discovered a community of artist-activists, who were squatting inside these buildings with a pitbull dog. Invited by the founding occupants to extend his documentation to include the squat’s interior and associated ‘lifestyles,’ he worked with willing members of this community to develop a photo-essay.

Eight years after submitting this essay for his assignment, a chance encounter led Walton-Healey to re-connect with these individuals. Although the squat had long disbanded, the surrounding community endured, and welcomed the photographer back into the fold. Inspired by their continuing creativity, he pitched the idea of making an artist’s book, producing this in 2020 with their blessings.

In facilitating the recording of verbal narratives relating to the time and place of the photographs, the publication deepened the photographer’s ties to the community. It also received a nomination for The Best Antipodean Photobooks of 2020, commended for its ability to show an alternative conception of ‘home,’ and how isolation can become community…