Photographer Andrew Tan is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the project ‘Not Street Art Project’. To see Andrew’s body of work, click on any photograph.

Not Street Art is a conceptual photography series that began in Melbourne in 2021, during one of the world’s longest COVID-19 lockdowns.

With movement limited to a 5km radius, I set two initial constraints for the project: each photograph had to be taken close to home, and the camera was always to be pointed downward.

These restrictions became a creative framework.

Focusing on surfaces underfoot, I began to uncover the quiet aesthetics of the everyday: accidental compositions, worn textures, cast shadows, and the visual rhythms of urban life.

The title, Not Street Art, plays with irony.

These works are not murals or graffiti, but fragments of the street transformed through attention and framing.

As lockdowns lifted and the world reopened, the series expanded beyond Melbourne to cities like Sydney, Canberra, Tokyo, Sapporo, London, Edinburgh, New York, and San Francisco.

The downward perspective remained consistent, creating a cohesive visual language across geographies.

Not Street Art is a study in constraint, observation, and re-seeing.

It reflects on how the act of looking, especially in limited conditions, can reveal unexpected layers of meaning in the overlooked and the ordinary.

Artist Statement

My photographic practice is driven by a deep fascination with the unseen: the unnoticed textures, shapes, and visual rhythms that surround us daily.

I work primarily in urban environments, using the camera to reframe the ordinary and reveal the extraordinary embedded within it.

I am particularly drawn to the tension between chaos and form in public space, the layering of human marks, the interplay of light and geometry, and the aesthetics of impermanence.

I often set constraints on how I shoot, such as a fixed perspective, a limited radius, or a visual rule.

These are not limitations, but tools to sharpen my attention and uncover visual fragments that might otherwise be overlooked.

Photography, for me, is both a creative process and a form of mindfulness.

It is about being present, about seeing the city not just as a backdrop but as a living, shifting text.

Whether I am photographing in Melbourne or abroad, my aim is to create images that invite viewers to slow down, look again, and discover what we often miss when we are simply passing through.

Bio

Andrew Tan is an award-winning Melbourne-based urban photographer. His self-taught practice transforms the ordinary, revealing the hidden shapes and textures of city life. His significant accolades include the 2025 Photographer of the Year (Black & White category) and placing in Capture Magazine's Top 20 Australian Emerging Photographers. Andrew's work has been internationally exhibited across three continents.