The basketball hoop. A classic image of suburbia, an ingenious procrastination tool, a means of exercise, and an image that is sure to resonate with everyone who grew up in a house with a driveway in the ‘burbs.

Photographer Robert Gray, with a background in fashion and sports photography, describes how he “discovered hoops everywhere. From beautiful mansions to driveways and small rustic houses. There is a great story behind each dormant hoop and they create a powerful sense of nostalgia.” He collected images from America, Hawaii, western NSW and around Sydney to put together Hoops, a photographic series that explores the purpose of an object (the basketball hoop) after fulfilling its intended function. As in… after you’ve gotten bored with acting out the Basketball Diaries every weekend.

Sport, landscapes, suburbia, a twinge of loneliness and a whole lotta nostalgia is wrapped up in Hoops. Get yourself down to Kind Of Gallery from tonight until August 14.

Hoops – a photographic exhibition by Robert Gray
August 4-14 (opening tonight at 7pm)
Kind Of Gallery: 72 Oxford St, Darlinghurst
www.robertgrayphotography.com.au

Sophie McComas