Beauty in Decay II – RomanyWG

Carpetbombing Culture, 42 Swinburn Road, Darlington, Co Durham DL37TD, UK
www.carpetbombingculture.co.uk /Gingko Press, Hamburger Str. 180, 22083 Hamburg, www.gingkopress.com

I thought I also read part one, I was wrong…. anyway. This is a urbex book. Never heard of urbex like I did? – Urban Exploration of buildings that usually have locked doors.

On the first few pages you get to explore: „summer estate, built for an Italian Count“, „lurid interior of this peacock palace…. Some Tuscan aristocrat, grown fat off successful explotation of the industrial revolution in the 19th century Italy“, „This deserted quadrangle is the site of the first ever planned Stock Exchange“, „The castle that once stood here was burned to the ground by a besieging force. Rebuilt in the 19th century the elegant salons now stand empty“ and the also empty „Le Theatre des Reines“.

Way more scary are the explored „Asylums“ that follow, great photos of interesting architecture noble and not so noble psychatric hopitals, that have one thing in common, all empty. The deserted monsters of industrialisation are a terrible sight, but have a fascination if you look at them thru a camera.

It is strange that so many great abandoned buildings are around, strange in the sense why they are not used or pulled down. The text that accompanies the great photos explains a little bit about the history and is interesting. Here and there you can spot a little graffitti and sometimes terrible damage – humans, what can you do. Author RomanyWG has tracked down a bunch of new locations to amaze viewers of Beauty in Decay II. Hardcover, 26×26 cm, many pages. 19,95 £ (dolf)

Isbn 978 1 908211 10 1

[Trust # 165 April 2014]