Photos Document Abandoned Buildings Along an Australian Highway

Photographer Andrew Cowan set out to explore the abandoned world that lines the thoroughfare of the Princes Highway in Sydney, Australia. Situated just south of the city, the highway acts as a major outer road passing the airport and winding out to the suburbs and beyond. Here Cowan searched for the remains of homes and local businesses made obsolete by the rapidly passing vehicles with no interest in stopping.

The result is a dilapidated stage of repurposed buildings made into used car lots, auto repair shops, fast food restaurants and car washes. The strange hodgepodge of failing businesses juxtaposed against garish oversized advertising is a telling example of the cultural refuse left by motor vehicles. Hauntingly absent of any human presence, Cowan has recently seen signs of refurbishing and improvement by locals and passersby alike. It is these slow and valiant efforts that will hopefully make roads like the Princes Highway be more than a landscape of speeding motor vehicles, but a community and a home.

This post was contributed by photographer and Feature Shoot Editorial Assistant Jenna Garrett.

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