ruins

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Photography

Foliage and Moss Renew Abandoned Sites Around the Globe with Verdant Signs of Life

Spanning an open-air Taiwanese warehouse to a Cuban theater teeming with vibrant leaves, the sites that Jonathan Jimenez visits are relics of the industries and cultural institutions of the past. The French photographer, who works as Jonk (previously), has cultivated a practice centered on documenting abandoned structures around the globe, many of which have been cloaked in mosses, lush foliage, and even jungle-like vegetation.

In his most recent collection, Jonk visits 35 locations in 25 countries and captures the crumbling roofs, peeling facades, and rusted trains in their midst. He compiles the series in his seventh book titled Urbex Monde, which pairs the largely architectural photos with notes, histories of the sites, and anecdotes from his encounters in a consideration of nature’s enduring ability to reclaim what humans have left behind.

The new volume is available from Arthaud—note that the text is written in French—and you can follow Jonk’s future travels on Instagram.

 

Photography

Nature Resurges to Overtake Abandoned Architecture in a New Book of Photos by Jonk

From dilapidated power plants, abandoned medical facilities, and amusement parks left in rusted ruin, the compelling scenes that French photographer Jonathan Jimenez, aka Jonk (previously), captures are evidence of nature’s endurance and power to reclaim spaces transformed by people. Now compiled in a new book titled Naturalia II, 221 images shot across 17 countries frame the thriving vegetation that crawls across chipped concrete and architecture in unruly masses.

This succeeding volume is a follow-up to Jonk’s first book by the same name and focuses on the ways the ecological crisis has evolved during the last three years. He explains the impetus for the book in a statement:

On the one hand, the situation has deteriorated even further with yet another species becoming extinct every single day. Global warming continues and has caused repeated natural catastrophes: floods, fires, droughts, etc. On the other hand, our collective awareness has widely increased. We are still a long way from the commitment needed to really change things, but we are heading in the right direction. Millions of initiatives have already emerged, and I hope that my photos and the message contained within them can play a small part in the collective challenge facing us all.

Pick up a copy of Naturalia II, which has text in both French and English, from Jonk’s site, and follow him on Instagram to keep up with his travels and reclaimed findings.

 

Photography

Nature Reclaims Abandoned Castles, Theaters, and Monasteries in Photographs by Jonk

Inspired by a wildlife documentary he saw as a child, Paris-based photographer Jonk (Jonathan Jimenez) travels the world in search of man-made structures that have been abandoned and reclaimed by nature. A jungle fills a dilapidated theater in Cuba, roots snake through a mansion in Taiwan, and a wild garden sprouts in a former greenhouse in Belgium. A reflection of his ecological consciousness, Jonk’s photography shows that in the power struggle between man and nature, nature always wins.

Throughout his career, the photographer has visited more than 1,000 abandoned structures in 50 countries on four different continents. The Naturalia: Chronicle of Contemporary Ruins series has led to the publication of a hardcover photography book, and Jonk says that he is working on a second volume. The juxtaposition of weakened architecture with thriving plant life tells a full story. The images capture specific moments in time and allude to the past, but for Jonk, they hint at an inevitable future. “This series also tells the story of the progression of Nature,” he said in a statement, “from the infiltration in abandoned places, through the moment where She grows inside them, until their collapse. Burial comes next along with the disappearance of all traces of Man.”

Images from the Naturalia series are currently being exhibited at the André Planson Museum in Paris through March 1, 2020, with other exhibitions planned this year. To see more of Jonk’s urban ruin photography and to follow his travels, head over to Instagram.

Photography

The Abandoned Grandeur of Crumbling Palaces Showcased in Large Format Photographs by Thomas Jorion

Whereas many photographers seek to capture beautiful ephemeral moments with their camera lens, French photographer Thomas Jorion is drawn to a more eternal timeline. Using an analog 4×5 camera, Jorion focuses on abandoned places: spaces and structures lost to the nature and time. In his photographs, once majestic buildings that are now largely forgotten are given the same careful composition and attention that more currently-engaged spaces might receive. His solo exhibition Veduta at Esther Woerdehoff Galerie in Paris explores the abandoned villas and palaces of Italy through April 6, 2019. You can see more of Jorion’s work on Instagram.

Art

A Skeletal Wooden Kraken Climbs From Remote Ruins in France

French artist Thomas Voillaume, a.k.a. APACH, likes to mix his background in sculpture and video to 3D map digital works onto larger-than-life public sculptures in urban environments. For his 2016 sculpture The Kraken however, the artist decided to construct the work with a more minimal approach. The piece is an open wooden structure built into the ruins of Val d’Escrein, a remote valley in Hautes-Alpes, France. Its body is situated at the center of the stone building, while its six pointed legs reach over the crumbling walls.

Voillaume’s work is one of three monumental installations scattered throughout the region, including eleven illuminated dandelion sculptures formed from clusters of milk bottles by Alice and David Bertizzolo and a giant wooden hand by Pedro Marzorati. You can take a look at more of Voillaume’s work on his website and Instagram, and view a behind-the-scenes video of The Kraken’s construction (with horses!) in the video below. (via Colossal Submissions)

Design History

A Modern Solar-Powered Home Built Within the Ruins of an 18th-Century Farmhouse

Architects Nathanael Dorent and Lily Jencks recently collaborated to build a sleek, modern home within the existing ruins of an 18th-century farmhouse. The home is built on a hill that overlooks more than 50 miles of Scotland’s pastoral fields and combines elements of both the old and new world. The structure features white, futuristic walls that wind throughout the length of its interior, which is completely powered by exterior solar panels. Although there are some updated elements, the structure still sits within the original stones of the farmhouse, and is topped by a pitched roof similar to the one that would have sheltered the old Scottish house.

While building the structure, Dorent and Jencks used their admiration of specific views seen from the farmhouse as inspiration for custom windows. One particular oval opening in the wall looks directly onto a nearby field of cows perfectly set against a backdrop of rolling hills. You can learn more about the new home and the philosophy behind its construction on Dorent’s website. (via Fubiz)