Statement
Merredin sits roughly halfway between Perth and Kalgoorlie on the Great Eastern Highway. Chicken Treat – the iconic Western Australia fast food restaurant - was a popular stop for Goldfields travellers on their way to and from Perth. This photo was taken around a year ago when the restaurant was due to close permanently. It now sits empty, a casualty of the ever-changing rural demographic.
Melissa Drummond is a Kalgoorlie-based documentary photographer and artist, with a background in earth science, working at the intersection of mining and the natural world. Melissa has worked throughout regional Western Australia for over a decade, on mainly community projects and events. Her artistic practice often involves seeking out quiet, abandoned and degraded environments, recording the influence and impact of human activity.