Date2021Description2021 City Photographer, Helene Cochaud: Driving down a busy suburban street one afternoon, my eye is caught by a person sitting in a large tent in their front garden working on something. Curiosity gets the better of me and I need to find out more.
As I open the rusted gate I see the garden is strewn with an assortment of metal offcuts and other recycled materials. Going in closer I notice what look like religious decorations illuminated by LEDs. Walking around suburban Fairfield I have noticed many such decorations displayed in residents' houses and gardens.
The man, Ramzi, an Assyrian, looks up, slightly puzzled at my presence. It takes a few minutes and a phone call to his sister (who speaks English) to explain why I'm in his garden.
I know someone who can speak Assyrian and am able to ask them to come by and assist me to find out more about Ramzi. With the language barrier out the way and assurance from his sister he welcomes me to take a seat and offers a coffee and a warm smile. He apologises that at first he thought he was going to be in trouble for selling his handmade decorations - he stresses that he doesn't sell them but rather gives them away. Using offcuts and recycled materials Ramzi produce a variety of decorations such as crosses, angels and stars. First he draws out a shape, then makes a frame to bend the metal around and lastly he puts on the LED strips. Each one of his creations are made with patience, skill and thought.
Ramzi arrived in Australia six years ago, first living near one of his sisters in Canberra. He found that Canberra wasn't for him though, too quiet and lacking life. 'There's no people there...every two hours you'll see a car... it was depressing.'
Ramzi knows some English but it is limited, he concedes "I made a mistake moving to Sydney if I had stayed in Canberra I would have had no choice but to learn English".
He enjoys sitting outside in his garden, working and watching the world go by. In addition to his handicraft skills I discover Ramzi has a wonderful sense of humour and a number of amusing stories to tell.
Over the summer he put up a large screen in his front garden and projected his favourite films on it of women belly dancing. The public display turned a few heads and on more than one occasion stopped passing traffic. One evening the police dropped by enquiring whether he had witnessed a fight that had broken out across the road. Ramzi laughs as he said he told them he '.. was far too busy watching my film than those idiots'.
PhotographerHelene CochaudGeolocation[1] Cnr The Boulevard and Evan St, Fairfield HeightsNotesThese photographs are part of the 2021 City Photographer project.
Details
Image ColourColourTypeDigitalCopyrightPartial restriction. Please contact Fairfield City Heritage Services for image use.AcknowledgementHelene Cochaud, 2021 Fairfield City Photographer. Image courtesy of Fairfield City Heritage Collection.
Ramzi the Creative (2021). Fairfield City Heritage Collection, accessed 09/03/2026, https://heritagecollection.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/4204
