New Book Shows Abandoned Places Taken Over By Nature
A photographer has travelled the world to document abandoned places taken over by nature.
Jonk, who is Paris-based, released his latest book, Naturalia II, in April 2021.
It shows deserted structures and locations, ranging from a swimming pool in Denmark, to a Lithuanian sanatorium.
Jonk explains: “I travel the world in search of abandoned places. To date, I have visited more than one thousand five hundred sites in some fifty countries, across four continents.
“Over time, I have increasingly focused on what appears to be the most powerful element in this vast theme of abandonment: places taken over by Nature. It is poetic, almost magical, to see it creeping through broken windows and cracks, gradually taking back the spaces built and then abandoned by Man until they are almost completely swallowed up.
“The message in these photos also became evident to me: Nature is more powerful and, whatever happens to Man, it will always be there. Naturalia puts forward a fundamental question: Man’s place on Earth and its relationship with Nature. At a time when Man’s impact on the environment has never been so great, the aim of this series is to increase people’s awareness, without being pessimistic. Man builds, Man abandons. Always for his own reasons. Nature doesn’t give a damn. One thing is certain, when Man leaves, Nature returns and takes back what is rightfully hers.
“Through Naturalia, and my modest means as a photographer, I try to play my part in the ecological challenge facing Man, by making each and every one of us more aware. Today, three years after the publication of the first volume, I wanted to make a follow-on.”
