My work seeks to capture the romantic beauty and melancholy embedded in the abandoned structures of post-industrial landscapes and our natural environments.
Urban ruins reveal to us the fleeting nature of time. Like wandering through the shadows of an enchanted forest, we are confronted with the perpetual cycle of decay that governs life, blurring the distinction between nature and culture. These remnants bear witness to the adaptive powers of ecosystems, a humbling reminder of our relative transience in the face of nature. Once symbols of progress and innovation, these structures now echo with lost futures.
Berlin has long been a centre for urban exploration, largely due to its recent political history. As one form of government was replaced with another, new buildings were erected only to be left abandoned, each telling a story of the time they were built. This made the city a hub for urban explorers, who were drawn to these ruins for their fascinating history and aesthetic wonder.
Following my residency in Berlin, I worked on a series of paintings capturing the variety of impressions these locations imparted upon me, ranging between childlike wonder, meditative stillness, eeriness and nostalgia. Alongside these paintings, I compiled a travel log, which lies somewhere between a diary, a travel guide and an essay. This acts both as research into the abandoned architecture I visited during my residency in Berlin, an exercise in creative writing, and as a broader reflection on the sublimity of these modern ruins.
