[2010-2016] Detroit Lives
"Detroit is everything that people think it isn't."
In recent years, Detroit has become the Mecca for those interested in urban decay photography. There may not be any precedence for a city that has seen such economic prosperity and decline over the last century. The decline has resulted in a myriad of socio-economic issues that are almost too daunting to tackle. It has also left giant scars; tens of thousands of vacant and burnt down homes, empty office buildings, and massive industrial ruins.
Detroit is not just a series of impressive abandoned ruins. It is a city that is undergoing a mini-renaissance, driving many small business owners and artists with the promise of qualified labour and low cost of living. However, to try and deny the existence of these ruins would be to ignore a side of Detroit that is very much part of its identity and landscape. Rather than focusing on the beauty of what these buildings once were, I present them for what they are in its current form. Even after these places have been neglected, scrapped, and left for dead, I still see their beauty in the now. Detroit lives in these buildings