Perth After Dark | Felisa Tan Photography

Perth After Dark
Perth, Australia 2015

Nighttime moves us in mysterious ways.

As the sun goes down and darkness comes, everything just seems to become closer to what it really is—silence more silent, shapes clearer, light brighter, conversations deeper, humans more real. It wakes up the senses, it wakes up the soul.

The night turns our attention to what would otherwise be missed during the day. In the brightness of daylight, we are oftentimes too preoccupied with our daily activities, but once the sun sets and mind allays, all our senses come alive. The texture of the bricks of the old church in your neighbourhood, the curves and edges of the lamp posts you see on your way home, the gradient of the light that illuminates the pavement, the unusual glow the rain has caused to the grounds, the sound of people whispering, leaves rustling... The night brings clarity to the mind.

During my last few weeks of living in Perth as a student, I decided to walk down memory lane and document everything that moved me. You may find that most of the subjects captured in this series hold a certain degree of historical significance in the larger scheme of things, but some are not. Sometimes my pictures do not describe grand places or things, and sometimes they are not grand pictures—but they mean something to me.

Here's to the pitch black skies, the brisk wintry air, the moonlit melancholy and crisp nostalgia, and the truth that has no words. As Brassaï articulated, 'If one day, the streets were as well lit as the interiors... the spell of the nocturnal city would be broken.'

Horseshoe Bridge Constructed in 1904 and designed in the shape of a horseshoe, the bridge was considered to be a sophisticated piece of urban design of its time.
Horseshoe Bridge Despite its high traffic, in some split seconds of the night, it was transformed into a serene scene of long shadows with hints of glimmering lights against the pitch black skies - a view that almost takes us back to simpler days of the early 20th century.
Black Swan The black swan is the state bird and emblem of Western Australia, and also a symbol of antipodean identity.
Wesley Church Built in 1867, Wesley Church is one of the oldest church buildings and few remaining 19th-century colonial buildings in the City of Perth.
The Commonwealth Bank Building Built for the Commonwealth Government of Australia from 1930-1933, its grand elegance gives a sense of heritage in the heart of the City of Perth.


Walsh's Building Previously known as the Economic Store Building, Welsh's Building was designed in art deco style by Liutenant Talbot Hobbs, an Australian architect and First World War general.
The Picadilly Arcade Enlisted in the State Heritage Register, the Picadilly Theatre and Arcade is an art deco style cinema and shopping arcade, and also a state treasure.
Perth Town Hall Established in 1870 as part of the public works program using the skills of the convict population, the Perth Town Hall is the only Victorian Gothic revival style and convict-built town hall in Australia.
The New Esplanade Hotel Something about the totality of its aesthetics appealed to me. The vintage cursive font of the logo; the curved brick wall, and how the elliptical shape of the logo matches it; how the lamp posts are comparable to little lightbulbs, and the fact that they shine bright while the neon logo sign is powered off. On the one hand it looks elegant and glorious, but old and abandoned on the other.

Lawson Apartments The night can create a different effect on how we perceive things. The dark shadows, the uneven light distribution, the marbles wet from the rain, altogether revealing the lines, flaws, and mysterious sense of the place. This building had a soul of its own, and in this picture, forever it will do.


Lawson Apartments As an eleven storey art deco apartment constructed in 1937, it was one of the tallest buildings in Perth. Today it is of heritage value and its glory lives on.


/35/ Sometimes my pictures do not describe grand places or things, and sometimes they are not grand pictures, but they mean something to me.
/35/ The Beatles' "In My Life" is a tune that plays at the back of my mind when I think of Goderich Street. Time and space, everything and every place - has its moment.
Street Lights (2015) I'd like to think that things are silent observers. These trees, street lights and the road - they all know a piece of my story, and a few hundreds of thousands of others', too. Sincere smiles of the heart, stories of growing up, dark secrets and tales untold - It's amazing how much they have witnessed, and not spoken out.

Perth After Dark Perth, Australia 2015

Horseshoe Bridge

Constructed in 1904 and designed in the shape of a horseshoe, the bridge was considered to be a sophisticated piece of urban design of its time.

Horseshoe Bridge

Despite its high traffic, in some split seconds of the night, it was transformed into a serene scene of long shadows with hints of glimmering lights against the pitch black skies - a view that almost takes us back to simpler days of the early 20th century.

Black Swan

The black swan is the state bird and emblem of Western Australia, and also a symbol of antipodean identity.

Wesley Church

Built in 1867, Wesley Church is one of the oldest church buildings and few remaining 19th-century colonial buildings in the City of Perth.

The Commonwealth Bank Building

Built for the Commonwealth Government of Australia from 1930-1933, its grand elegance gives a sense of heritage in the heart of the City of Perth.

Walsh's Building

Previously known as the Economic Store Building, Welsh's Building was designed in art deco style by Liutenant Talbot Hobbs, an Australian architect and First World War general.

The Picadilly Arcade

Enlisted in the State Heritage Register, the Picadilly Theatre and Arcade is an art deco style cinema and shopping arcade, and also a state treasure.

Perth Town Hall

Established in 1870 as part of the public works program using the skills of the convict population, the Perth Town Hall is the only Victorian Gothic revival style and convict-built town hall in Australia.

The New Esplanade Hotel

Lawson Apartments

The night can create a different effect on how we perceive things. The dark shadows, the uneven light distribution, the marbles wet from the rain, altogether revealing the lines, flaws, and mysterious sense of the place. This building had a soul of its own, and in this picture, forever it will do.

Lawson Apartments

As an eleven storey art deco apartment constructed in 1937, it was one of the tallest buildings in Perth. Today it is of heritage value and its glory lives on.

/35/

Sometimes my pictures do not describe grand places or things, and sometimes they are not grand pictures, but they mean something to me.

/35/

The Beatles' "In My Life" is a tune that plays at the back of my mind when I think of Goderich Street. Time and space, everything and every place - has its moment.

Street Lights (2015)

Perth After Dark
Perth, Australia 2015