Julie Shiels’ Last Days captured the hidden life of objects and the places they inhabit in the final days of Brooklyn Art Hotel.  Part home, part hotel for many who have visited Melbourne since 2006, this series of photos asked the question —  If an object could take a selfie what would it look like? Shot on a mobile phone these images are a last farewell and bring into view the overlooked relationships between spaces and things before Brooklyn is emptied and handed over to a new owner.

“Julie Shiels is perpetually inquisitive. The camera is just one of her many tools, but it’s certainly the most important companion of her curiosity. Most of us take for granted what we see around us; Shiels does not. Looking at the overlooked is at the compassionate core of her project. Whether installing texts and sculptures in the corners of streets and alleyways, or photographing unlikely spaces and places, Shiels finds human traces, evidence of social life. All of which is valued. Julie’s work remind us that things continue to exist even when they slip from view.” Julie Ewingtion: Essay from Empty, M.33, Melbourne, 2018.