There's something so interesting about abandoned buildings. Perhaps it's the stories empty shells could tell, perhaps it's the feeling of loss they evoke, but Tom Kirsch - urban explorer and photographer - exposes something quite emotional in his art.
Based in Brooklyn NY, Kirsch scales walls and vaults barbed wire to access prisons, hospitals, churches, factories and houses exposing nature clawing back unused spaces. He claims nothing is set up and everything is just as he found it. The results are stunning if a little haunting, and strangely evocative. I imagine it's a similar feeling to watching a person fall apart - devastating yet utterly compelling.
Considering the conversations we're having about our relationships to the spaces we live in, it's interesting to see people's reaction to unloved and degraded buildings. How would you feel if somewhere you cared about fell apart like this? Is it only unloved buildings and unloved people that are allowed to get to this state?
To see more urban exploration,
click here.
Re: Roy's post below, I've invented a new game. As well as colour, you can also search for tags with this technology, so there's loads of practical uses for it - art buying? Especially now Getty has done a deal with flickr. Type in a tag, take a screengrab of the images and get people to guess what they are. What do you think these are?
This site searches all flickr images to match any colour (or colour combination) you choose.
There's something so interesting about abandoned buildings. Perhaps it's the stories empty shells could tell, perhaps it's the feeling of loss they evoke, but Tom Kirsch - urban explorer and photographer - exposes something quite emotional in his art.
If you want to induldge with your inner lost child, get down to the Southbank Centre this weekend. Be one with the crowd of flash mobbers, social gamers and psycho art projects. Expect wierdness, frivolity and a whole load of fun. There'll be loads of sparky ideas for us to reinterpret and use. And it might feed into the St Luke's photography project that's going on this month.
