My book is inspired by the question: What if humanity vanished entirely from the face of the planet? As you turn the pages, you’ll find dust-covered floors, broken walls, rotting wood, and nature gradually taking over once-living areas—a constant reminder to live in balance with our surroundings. Nature can no longer withstand the strain and harm that humans are causing. I will transport the reader to forgotten castles, schools, hospitals, factories, and cathedrals as we go through the pages.
My intention was to use my artwork to send a message about the environment by imagining what the planet might look like without humans, implying that our continued behavior may lead to the extinction of humanity. When ivy takes over everything, I want to focus on that. We may imagine how the planet might appear if people vanished from it. This vision of the post-apocalyptic world fascinates us all. Perhaps in order to appreciate what we have and the time that lies ahead of us, we must bear witness to that. As I’ve previously stated, the most important thing to me is that when people view my photos, they tell their own tales.
I believe that my photos serve as a modern-day equivalent of the “Memento Mori,” serving as a constant reminder that everything has an end and that we should cherish the moment while it lasts. These images depict our history, but they might also depict our future! I would be very gloomy given the direction the world is going. Although I hope there is still time, after reading the most recent GIEC report, I find it difficult to imagine global warming abruptly ending. However, I believe that working for a better future is still worthwhile.
Kolmanskop, an abandoned mining town in Namibia, was the most unusual and stunning spot I saw, if I had to choose just one unforgettable or unexpected experience. I began learning about this location’s history as soon as I fell in love with it. When German settlers found diamonds in the Namibian desert in 1908, they created Kolmanskop, a ghost town now destroyed and overrun by sand. I learned about it for the first time and was astounded by how amazing it was. They departed for a new diamond that night. Their homes and structures gradually filled with sand and became coated in it. This explains why you sometimes see weird, uncanny pictures that seem to be from another planet.
“Nature doesn’t need much space to thrive: give it an inch, and it will grow a mile!” That quotation is really lovely and accurate! In my interviews, I usually use the example of Chornobyl or the border between the two Koreas to illustrate how resilient nature is: Scientists have observed and investigated how, 35 years after the explosion, the Chornobyl exclusion zone has transformed into a natural sanctuary, with deer, bison, lynx, and other creatures freely moving through dense forests. It has grown to become a famous rewilding experiment and is currently the third-largest nature reserve in continental Europe.
If you would want to see more of my work, my most recent book, “Green Urbex 2: The World Without Us,” was recently released last week. Twelve distinct locations with their complete histories are the focus! The creator of “Shangri-la” and “Carbone & Silicium,” Mathieu Bablet, also provides the ideal introduction. I’ve always felt that his environmental and ecological work is somewhat similar to the message I hope to portray through my photographs. More than two hundred brand-new photos from the previous ten years are included.
