As you may know, a global lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic has caused many of our cities to appear empty as citizens have entered into self-isolation. One of the first things I noticed was how quiet the night and mornings are these days.
The main thing not mentioned in dreams or visions of empty cities is that they would not remain empty, but wildlife would likely move into these empty cities over time.
Just as we've seen occur in nuclear dead zones where humans evacuated the areas.
We've been documenting abandoned buildings, sites and even abandoned ghost towns for over 10 years but we've never seen anything like the empty cities of China.
Ghost towns normally have meant towns once occupied but through some kind of economic hardship, or some kind of natural environmental disaster, that has rendered the town unable to persist as in its former glory days due to its present hardship(s).
The empty ghost cities of China are notably peculiar in that they've never been occupied, but have remained ghost towns since their inception.
These are abandoned cities from the get-go. It's peculiar. Even surreal.
PBS created an educational series within the American Experience History Series called The Labotomist. In American history, the doctor Walter Freeman is known to have spread the practice of labotomies upon mental health patients, in particular in the state of West Virginia. Quite chilling, but an excellent editorial of footage exists at the website. Below are a few that struck me, but there are a list of videos to choose from.
Urban exploration can mean different things to different people. And that's fine. But since our exposure to the Internet, exploring has become a popular past time with all kinds of different theories about what it is ...
I think we can all agree on one thing though, that explorers go places most reasonable adults won't. I'd like to share a few Do's and Dont's about urban exploration.
Our Urban Exploration "Do Tips":
1) Explorers have a natural curiosity. Exploring started when I was a child. I bet for many of you the same applies. I get real excited before I explore. However, as an adult it's often illegal in certain situations. Do No. 1:Know your rights, and legalities.
2) Explorers scout their location, online and off. Before the Internet, explorers scouted locations, so the Internet does not make scouting easier, and actually could lead to mistakes. Research is a part of scouting as well as visiting the physical location. Do No. 2: Do your research and try to avoid foolishness.
Foolishness tends to land explorers in jail, or with a hefty fine, or possibly getting shot with a rifle for invading someone's home unwittingly ... Like in this video inserted below. It's likely best not to bring along those break-in gadgets like in this video below, because this leads us to one of the main 'Do Not' Tips (Do Not break and enter).
3) Do be respectful of others, artifacts, and yourself. Other dangers associated with exploring can include loss of limbs, or even death, from falling through a floor or staircase. It has happened, so 'do' be careful.
4) Have fun. Exploration is not an elitist past time, but open to anyone who has a sense of adventure and curiosity. Likewise, those who think the idea of fun is vandalizing, looting and stealing are not urban explorers. They give urban exploration a bad name.
5) Do attend locations which have tours, or open houses or are willing to to give you a private tour. Urban exploration is not all about infilteration, no matter what others say.
Our "Do Not Tips" Are:
1) Do Not steal anything. Taking is stealing. The golden rule: Take only photos, leave only footprints.
2) Do Not force entry. That's called break and enter you know. Most explorers, when practicing infilteration, seek out existing openings. Unless all is boarded up, if in doubt, assume someone is occupying the location before wielding that crow bar! Try knocking on the door, and be sociable, it at all possible ...
3) Do Not make assumptions based off of Internet data because sometimes locations are occupied, or are revitalized, and no one has gotten around to updating this yet. Tread softly.
4) Above all else, Do Not become a self-righteous urbexer. We all did this when we were kids - it's fun. As adults though, explorers share slices of history that are actually interesting and enrich our art and culture. Focusing on how exploring benefits the community at large keeps the elitist ego trip in balance ... Keep your ego in check.
When these are in balance, urban explorers gain our respect for venturing into spaces where no one else has dared to go before.
An urban exploration video of an abandoned church:
I was posting a Blue Man Group video earlier today and begun thinking about the wastelands of America I've witnessed in my personal explorations and travels. Urban and industrial decay is not only a tragedy of abandonment but of the environment.
Take, for instance, a small coal town in Pennsylvania - Centralia - where a mine fire has been burning under the ground for nearly 50 years. Centralia is now a ghost town, but the smoldering fire will burn hundreds of years spreading to nearby towns.
What to think of all this? I'm not sure entirely. But environmental disasters are some of the key forces behind cultural abandonment's. Man playing with nature as she builds her industrial playground have consequences. Below is Blue Man Groups video "Earth to America"!
Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again.
-Henri Cartier-Bresson-
Public Commons
We see the beauty in decay and the shadowed dreams of the forgotten.
