Melbourne’s classic charm has been bulldozed or left to rot and replaced with monoliths of glass and steel. The distinctive character of this city has been replaced with something very sanitised and synthetic looking (so long as you keep the urban decay and unrelenting chaos out of your field of vision.)
Melbourne in 2024 is a corporate forest that often smells something like a cross between an open sewer and an unemptied rubbish bin, where the culture hinges around drinking coffee, fast fashion, international cuisine, and trying to balance the desire for attention with the safety of anonymity. Everyone wants to be heard, but nobody wants to be singled out. The streets are clogged with people in a rush to be nowhere to do nothing, as well as smartphone somnambulists.
The history and the core essence of what made Melbourne so unique is dwarfed, engulfed and squeezed into oblivion by glossy, mosaic-skinned titans. People walk the streets with determination but not purpose. There is a feeling of needing to move forward but having no destination. Progression for progression’s sake — consuming to satiate an appetite for consuming. And everywhere, reminders that the shepherds are watching the flock at all times — not for the safety of the flock but to ensure continued prosperity for the graziers.
Fiery Wolf 
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