Jonk is one of the most recognized photographers of abandoned places in the world. Starting ten years ago, he has traveled the planet looking for them. Through this practice of urbex, he seeks to show their slow transformation before disappearance, the impact of passing time is the common thread of this book.
This quest for cracked walls, rusty iron and peeling paint took him to more than fifty countries. Today, Jonk gives us the best of his urban explorations with The Lost World.
A word from the author:
In 2013 I visited my first abandoned place in the Paris suburbs. At the time, I mainly photographed street art. This is what pushed me to enter this old customs building in Pantin, filled with the best of Parisian graffiti. I went back several times before it was rehabilitated. This first visit was a revelation. The intense atmosphere that emanated from this place, the feeling of being where I had no right to be, the magnificent paintings reserved for a few adventurers, a path opened up on that day.
I immediately looked for other similar places to find graffiti. Then, very quickly, graffiti or not, I started traveling to photograph these forgotten places. At first the East and the North of France, then Belgium. I still remember my first “wasteland” trip abroad: Germany in 2014. A few days alone with already a few scary moments including a first real contact with security agents. It was also almost my first encounter with the police… I knew that this journey would bring many others. I quickly started working in Eastern Europe, then the Balkans. Then, Japan, Taiwan… Later Namibia, Argentina… Passionate, I don’t do things half way. In ten years, I have traveled four continents, fifty countries and a number of places that I no longer count since it exceeded one thousand five hundred.
These abandoned places fascinate me. I find them to have an unparalleled aesthetic and what can I say about the questions they ask about our time on Earth, about what we leave behind us.
Ten years after Pantin, and for me who is a book lover, a publication was needed to celebrate this milestone.
This book has a common thread which relates to the aesthetic I spoke about above: decay. This decadence, this impact of time which has passed and which has left its mark on things, represents what I find magnificent to observe and photograph in these places. I’m looking for time capsules. Places on which only time has had an impact, without human intervention.
These places outside of time, where time is suspended, attract me like nothing else. Each image in this book therefore exudes rusty iron, peeling paint, dust…
Jonk
Jonk: The Lost World
The preface is signed Denis Brogniart.
Publisher: Editions Tempus Fugit
Hardcover – 256 pages
Language: French (English version: The Lost World)
Size: 30.2cm x 21.6cm
ISBN: 978-2-9576450-5-3
Release: October 2023
https://www.jonk-photography.com/en/produit/the-lost-world-english/
