Loo Chun Shing
Mining City
Edition 1/3
16 x 20 inch
Printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art
$145 AUD
Includes GST & postage within Australia
Bio
Ryan Loo (Chun Shing Loo) is a Hong Kong–born, Perth-based emerging artist whose practice focuses on street photography and the subtle narratives of everyday life. Working primarily within urban environments, he documents the people, places, and moments that shape Perth’s social landscape.
Loo holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Screen Arts), Photography Specialisation, from Curtin University and is currently studying live sound and sound mixing at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). His combined background in film, photography, and audio informs a grounded, observational approach that emphasises clarity, atmosphere, and human presence.
His work often engages with contemporary social issues in Perth. South Perth Saplings captures a single moment tied to broader conversations around environmental change and the impact of tree removals in the area. Morley Market documents the aftermath of the Morley market fire, highlighting the effects on long-standing local businesses and the communities connected to them. Through these images, Loo aims to preserve local stories and encourage reflection on how public events shape everyday lives.
In 2025, Loo received Highly Commended in the City of South Perth Emerging Artist Award, Local Theme category, for South Perth Saplings. In the same year, his photograph Morley Market won the Photography Award in the City of Bayswater 2025 Community Art Awards and was subsequently acquired for the city’s public art collection.
As he continues to develop his practice, Loo remains committed to documenting the evolving character of Perth through thoughtful, socially aware photographic work.
Statement
This photograph, taken on Alma Road in North Perth, documents a moment of transformation within a rapidly evolving city. In the foreground, an excavator stands among the scattered remains of recently demolished local businesses—an immediate and tactile scene of change. The machine’s industrial form, with its weathered steel and heavy mechanical lines, echoes Western Australia’s longstanding connection to mining and resource extraction. This visual association is deliberate: the rubble and dust resemble landscapes more commonly seen in remote mine sites than in the heart of a metropolitan suburb.
Beyond this scene of disruption, the iconic Perth skyline rises sharply in the background. The city’s most recognisable towers—long associated with major mining and resource corporations—anchor the image with a sense of permanence and corporate power. Their presence contrasts with the fragility and impermanence of the demolished site below. This juxtaposition frames a broader narrative about urban redevelopment, economic priorities, and the shifting identity of Perth itself.
The site, once home to small, community-oriented businesses, is now cleared to make way for new apartments—an increasingly familiar story across the metropolitan area. As Perth faces ongoing pressures around population growth, rental shortages, and affordability, such demolitions raise questions about who benefits from redevelopment and what is lost in the process. Familiar neighbourhoods are reshaped, local histories are erased, and the character of the city becomes increasingly defined by commercial and residential expansion.
This photograph acts as both documentation and reflection. It captures a fleeting moment between destruction and construction, asking the viewer to consider the tension between progress and displacement. By bringing together imagery of demolition, machinery, and the glittering skyline, the work parallels broader themes of industrial identity, economic ambition, and the human impact of Perth’s changing urban landscape.
