past / present / future  : :  tactility  : :  materiality  : :  street art 

I am inexplicitly drawn to the decay of our designs. They are storybooks of the past, wastelands of the present, and perhaps glimpses into the future. They pull me in and beg me to explore and photograph. I want to touch the weathered marble and crumbling brick. The fallen layers of grandeur strewn across the floor leave the raw structure exposed and it’s as if I can see within the building’s soul. Their walls are covered in dirt and trash and paint. The art found in these places can be incredible – they’re the open-air galleries of the citys unwanted. They’re dangerous and perhaps I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie, but it’s exciting to wander through the unknown with only the sound of your reverberated footsteps as your friend.

I wonder if this is what everything will come to eventually. If so, what can we change? Or is this just the nature of the built world? Can we make something last forever – is a building meant to? Can we repurpose these historical structures or is it not worth the money?

Part of me knows that even these empty shells have their purpose. They serve as art canvases for the street rebels wielding spray cans. They are homes for those the system has shunned. They’re silent definers of socio-economic and real estate boundaries. And if nothing else, I think they’re pretty amazing. No matter what they stand for now or what becomes of them later, I take it as my duty to explore them, document them, and learn as much as possible. 

location  |  varies

type  |  Photography

year  |  varies