sub-urban magazine

If it were not for the constant chatterof the Geiger counter that is currentlywedged in my pocket, you would be for-given for thinking that exploring Cher-nobyl and Pripyat is like exploring anyother abandoned ruin. Unfortunately, this is not the case and

the constant clicking serves as a gravereminder of the deadly, yet invisible par-ticles that are passing through my bodywith ever hour that I remain here.The reason as to why I am well within

the exclusion zone of the world’s worstnuclear disaster, is to try my hand aturban exploration or urbex as it is com-

monly known. The process by which curious indi-

viduals gain access to abandonedbuildings in order to share its secretswith the rest of the world.For an urban explorer, the ghost city of

Pripyat is the Holy Grail of urbex loca-tions, but a visit to this city does notcome without a risk.“If you are to stand in this spot for sev-

eral hours you will begin feel dizzy, ex-perience reddening of your lips andeventually begin to bleed from yourmouth, gums and nose,” explains YuriTatarchukm, our exclusion zone tourguide for the day. “For every fifty metres

that you step to-wards the reac-tor, the amount oftime it will takefor these symp-toms to appear ishalved, I seri-ously recom-mend that you donot go any closerthan where youare now.”It is enough of a

warning to keepour group fromgoing any closerto Reactor Num-ber Four, thevery site thatcaused the massevacuation of 112,000 people just 26years ago following the world’s worstnuclear disaster. Even at 300 metres away, our Geiger

counters - small Gameboy-like devisesused to measure background radiation- are picking levels of radiation measur-ing 4.01 microsieverts, a level that isover 30 times the normal backgroundlevel. The cause of these unnaturally high

levels is from an event that took placein early hours of 26 April 1986, whenscientists working at Chernobyl NuclearPower Plant conducted a systems teston Reactor Number Four. Just 30 seconds after the test began,

a catastrophic surge of power causedthe reactor’s fuel elements to ruptureand in turn, explode. The blast was sopowerful that the reactor’s 1000-tonne,dome-shaped roof was blown straightoff. Radionuclides including caesium-137 and strontium-90 were then re-leased into the atmosphere from thereactor’s burning core.The end result of the Chernobyl disas-

ter led to the release of more radiationthat the dropping of the nuclear bombon Hiroshima, Japan in 1945.Even after 25 years, the radiation re-

leased from that day – and from thenine-day fire that subsequently followed– still remains in the area at above av-erage levels.

“It’s a very secretive commu-nity and one that you have toactually participate in for othermembers to trust you...”

19 SUB URBAN AUGUST 2012

Left: A corridor in a Pripyat secondary school. Right: The “gasmask” room. Bottom: Radiation levels one kilometre away fromReactor Number Four are still above average.

FEATURE

“Even if you wanted to, you would notbe allowed to get any closer than youare now without being arrested,” saysTatarchukm, as we are ushered backinto the minibus before heading out toPripyat. Situated just two-and-half kilometres

away, the abandoned city of Pripyatwas once home to 50,000 residents,many of whom were employed by theChernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.Following the disaster, all 50,000 resi-

dents of Pripyat were evacuated fromtheir homes and were never allowed toreturn.Completely void of human life for the

last 26 years, Pripyat has been re-claimed by nature, with almost everybuilding now sprouting small trees andshrubs from within. Every room of every building we enter

shows signs of panic from the eventsthat took place 26 years ago, as per-sonal belongings, now heavily coveredin dust and debris, litter the floors.For 21-year-old amateur filmmaker

and urban explorer, Ewan Dyer, the cityof Pripyat has been at the top of his ex-ploration wish list for a number of years.“I’ve seen so many pictures of Pripyatthat I feel like I know my way around al-ready,” says Dyer. “There is a real at-mosphere about the place, especiallyas the only noise is the wind blowingthrough the buildings.”

Like most urban explorers, Dyer be-longs to one of the many online com-

munities that focus solely on the hobby. Within these internet forums, members

post photographs along with historicalinformation about the buildings theygain access to in the form of “reports”.On one of the more popular explorationwebsites, www.28dayslater.co.uk,which has over 16,000 members world-wide, reports are posted on a daily

basis from all over the world. “It’s a very secretive community and

one that you have to actually participatein for other members to trust you,” ex-plains Dyer. “By that I mean you haveto regularly publish reports, otherwisenobody will even bother with you.” Many urban explorers specialise in dif-

ferent forms of exploration and in turn,have different names depending onwhat they do. Explorers who focus on underground

sites, such as storm drains and subwaytunnels are known as drainers, whilstthose who specialise in reaching thehighest points by climbing towers andspires are called climbers. For our tour of Pripyat however, we

keep our feet firmly at ground level de-spite the opportunity to climb to the topof any building we see fit.Like many abandoned sites in the UK,

the buildings of Pripyat hold just as many, ifnot more dangers to the inexperiencedexplorer like myself, and as we enterthe Palace of Culture - a huge structurethat once provided leisure activities forthe residents - it isn’t long until we comeacross our first.“Be careful when walking through

these areas, some of floors can be un-stable and try not to kick up any dust,”warns Tatarchukm. “That stuff you reallydon’t want to be breathing in.” The “dust” that Tatarchuk is referring

to can be exceptionally lethal within theexclusion zone, and ingesting just aspeck of radioactive strontium orcaesium can result in serious health is-sues. It is not only the ever-present radioac-

tive particles that pose a risk whileexploring Priyat, the abundant plant lifein particular the moss, has also beenheavily contaminated after a largeportion of the radioactive fallout wasabsorbed into the soil following theaccident.Despite the potential risks, both

Tatarchukm and Sergei Ivanchuk, thedirector of SoloEast Tour Company,insist that only one person has everbeen contaminated since they openedtours to Chernobyl back in 2000. “Seven hours in the exclusion zone is

equal to the amount of radiation you ab-sorb from a transatlantic flight,” saysIvanchuck, “I have visited Chernobylover 100 times, and Yuri has been their

“There is a real atmosphereabout the place, especially asthe only noise is the wind blow-ing through the buildings.”


Left: Reactor Number Four. Right: The infamous Ferris Wheel.Bottom: Teddies from the children of Pripyat in the kindergarten.

FEATURE

STEVE WHEEN, AKA THE POTHOLEGARDENER, HAS BECOME SOMETHINGOF A TRENDSETTER IN THE URBANGARDENING WORLD. HIS UNIQUE,MICRO-GARDENS HAVE BEEN POPPINGUP IN POTHOLES AND CRACKSACROSS EAST LONDON SINCE 2005,INSPIRING CREATIVES AROUND THEGLOBE. WITH THE FIRST DAY OFSPRING (20 MARCH) FAST APPROACH-ING, LUKE POWELL JOINS HIM ON HISLATEST ADVENTURE.

PIMP MY PAVEMENT

Steve Wheen is anything but astereotypical gardener. The 35-year-old freelance adver-tiser has more in common withBanksy than Titchmarsh, andhaving seen his work, it is easy tosee why.His miniature gardens can often

be found inhabiting the many pot-holes and cracks of east London,and like many street artists,Wheen’s work is done withoutany permission.Unsurprisingly, today is no differ-

ent, as when I meet Wheen weimmediately set off to the busywalkways of Embankment, cen-tral London, in search of a potholebig enough to hold his latest idea– an “organic” replica of the LondonEye.“We’re looking for a prime location

today,” says Wheen, scouring thepavement in front. “It needs tohave the London Eye in the back-ground else no one will have aclue as to what it is.”It isn’t long until we come across

a hole big enough to hold the in-stallation, however the choice oflocation raises a few eyebrowsamong the group. Planting a foreign object outside

the security gates of the Ministryof Defence is certainly not a wisething to do, especially not in London. “We should probably speak to

security before we start, I can’timagine this looking too great onCCTV,” says Wheen.Surprisingly, he is given the all

clear and the Pothole Gardenergets to work on what promises tobe his most technical creation todate.Wheen has been creating pot-

hole gardens since 2005, after hedecided to focus a university projectaround Guerilla Gardening. “I used to do Guerilla Gardening

on a much bigger scale, then formy university project I decided todo something smaller,” explainsWheen. “It became apparent thateven though it’s much smaller inscale, it seemed a lot more powerful.” Since then, his gardens and his

blog: www.potholegardener.com,have grown in popularity, inspiringpeople across the world to trans-form unsightly areas into miniatureworks of art. On a recent trip to India, he took

some time out to introduce hishobby to the locals using toy tuk-tuks to decorate his garden. “The Indians absolutely loved it,

they were like ‘What the hell areyou doing?’,” says Wheen. “I re-member when a security guycame up and I just thought ‘ohshit, I’m going to end up in jail’,but he was fine and couldn’t stoplaughing.”


First Day of Spring: Wheen’s pothole garden work.

PIMP MY PAVEMENT

Photographs by Luke Powell

WE SHOULD PROBABLYSPEAK TO SECURITY

BEFORE WE START. I CAN’T IMAGINE THIS

LOOKING TOO GREATON CCTV.

“

”


Originally from Canberra, Australia,Wheen comes from a family of passion-ate and inventive gardeners; with hisGrandfather being the first person tocultivate red Trumpet Daffodils.Unlike his grandfather however,

Wheen found that when he moved toLondon he was without a proper gardenand instead had to take his hobby ontothe streets of London.Despite most of his work taking within

the public realm he has never been ap-proached by the police, that is untiltoday. As the miniature Ferris wheel starts to

take shape, attracting the attention ofmany passers-by, it is not long beforethe Police arrive.Curious as to why the five of us – all

dressed in dark clothing – have been

crouched over a pothole on MOD prop-erty for the last 30 minutes, the policeofficer looks understandably bewilderedwhen Wheen reveals his creation.A quick explanation however, and the

officers face changes from a frown to asmile. “This is what we need more of in

London, it looks absolutely brilliant,it’s made my day,” says the officerwho did not wish to be named.After one hour of constant work, the

garden is finished, complete with Daffodil-filled pots that resemble the capsules onthe London Eye and a small lawn madefrom moss.

“I’d say this is one of my favourites sofar, I mean, look at it – it’s a work of art,”Says Wheen. “The thing about a pot-hole garden is that it is such a small act,

but it can have big repercussions. Thepolice officers face said it all, it lifts themood of anyone who sees one.” Unfortunately, like many of Wheen’s

creations this garden has a very shortlife, and with pictures taken, the securityguard orders for the contents to be re-moved.For Wheen, this is not a problem, as for

him it is not the creation that mattersmost, but the reaction he gets from thepublic. “It’s all about happiness and changing

people’s perceptions,” adds Wheen. “I get enjoyment from creating some-

thing other people are enjoying, and mygardens turn something pretty ugly, intosomething a little bit happier.”Have your say on Wheen’s pothole

gardens at www.suburbanmag.com.

FEATURE HOW TO CREATE YOUROWN POTHOLE GARDEN

STEP 1: Find a suitablepothole on a pavement oron the side of a quietroad.

Steve’s advice: “If youwant your garden to lastmore than five minutes, Irecommend findingsomewhere away fromvehicles. If you have todo it on a road, try andmake sure it is a quietone.”

STEP 2: Bring a bag ofcompost, a trowel and aselection of flowers orplants to decorate yourgarden.

Steve’s advice: “Designyour garden however youwant, usually I include afew props to make thegarden stand out. Just besure to remove themwhen you leave.”

STEP 4: Plant flowersand attach decorationsto your pothole gardenand make any finishingtouches.

Steve’s advice: “Onceyou’re happy with wholething, stand back andlet others enjoy whatyou have made!”

STEP 5: Take a pictureof your finished gardenand send to it to Steve’sblog on: [email protected]

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5

STEP 3: Clear out thepothole of any rubbishand fill with compost.

Steve’s advice: “Just because you don’t havepermission, don’t feelthat you have to rush.Take your time andmake it look nice. Thatsaid, if you’re on a road,time may well be of theessence.”

3


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FEATURE


Gods: By Knit the City.

STITCHEDUP

A TIGHT-KNIT GANG OF YOUNG FEMALECREATIVES ARE CHANGING THE WORLDOF GRAFFITI. ARMED WITH A PAIR OFKNITTING NEEDLES AND A BALL OFYARN, WE FIND OUT ABOUT THE SOFTERSIDE OF STREET ART.

There is a certain image attachedto graffiti artists, one that depictshooded delinquents vandalisingcities under the cover of darkness,spray can in hand.But this old-fashioned stereotype

could not be further from the truthand when applied to Lauren O’Far-rell, AKA Deadly Knitshade, it iseasy to see why.Having ditched a spray can for a

ball of yarn, O’Farrell – along withher ‘gang’ of graffiti knitters – havebeen stitching their way acrosscentral London, covering anythingfrom telephone boxes to trees inbrightly coloured wool.“Yarnbombing, or yarnstorming as

we try to call it when in London, isabout enhancing a public spacewith graffiti knitting or crochet,”says 34-year-old O’Farrell, founderof the guerrilla knitting group ‘Knitthe City.’ “A typical yarnstorm begins with

us planning a target and thenheading out into early hours of themorning to do it. Once we’ve cov-ered the object in bright, woollyyarn, we’ll run off into the shadowsgiggling.”Despite the hobby’s huge popular-

ity in the UK, guerrilla knitting orig-inally started in a small boutique inHouston, Texas, when in 2005, 39-year-old Magda Sayeg knitted a

small cosy to go over the doorhandle of her shop. After receiving so much attention

from customers over such a smalladdition, Sayeg, whose guerrillaknitting alias soon became ‘KnittaPlease’, decided to start knitting ona much bigger level. Since then her projects have gone

on to include knitting the weaponsof a 50-foot, pro-military statue inBali, Indonesia, to covering an en-tire bus in yarn during a trip toMexico. Although O’Farrell was not the first

guerrilla knitter, she believes thatKnit The City pioneered the art ofwhat she calls ‘stitch with a story’.“When it all started over in Amer-ica, they were just knitting thingsand putting them wherever. We didthat twice and then we got reallybored with it,” explains O’Farrell.“So to give the hobby an extra di-mension, we decided to tell storiesto go along with the things we cre-ated and that has really taken off.”The stories, which are posted on

Knit the City’s blog, are a mix ofcolourful tales to accompany theimages of their exploits. One of O’Farrell’s most popular

creations is an incredible 8-metregiant, knitted squid called Plarchie.Made entirely from plastic bags,Plarchie took over 100 hours to

Photographs by KnitTheCity


Inset: Handmade Herd.

create and has been ‘exhibited’ allacross London, including the NaturalHistory Museum. Despite a lot of O’Farrell’s work

sharing many similarities with graffiti,notably the lack of permission when at-taching it to public property, the policehave only approached her on oneoccasion. “We were knitting a giant cosy for a

telephone box back in 2009 when thepolice came over and asked us whatwe thought we were doing,” says O’Far-rell. “We managed to convince them itwas for an art project and they actually

let us continueworking on it, oneof the policemeneven took a pictureon his phone, so Ithink we secretlygot their approval.”Lauren’s interest in

knitting startedback in 2006 whenshe used the hobbyto distract her fromthe treatment shewas undergoing forcancer. During that time

she created a smallknitting group

known as Stitch and Bitch with fellowenthusiasts. Eventually, after a three-year long battle with Hodgkin’s Lym-phoma, she returned to full healthemerging as her alter ego ‘Deadly Knit-shade’. “I had always been interested in graffiti

and street art, and the free time I sud-denly had whilst in hospital was a greatopportunity for me to explore my artisticside,” explains O’Farrell. “When I wasfinally let out, Stitch and Bitch becameStich London and that grew massivelyin popularity.”So popular was her Stitch London

group, that she launched a book underthe same name, featuring her uniqueknitting patterns. More recently, O’Farrell, along with her

Knit the City accomplices; Lady Loop,

Shorn-a the Dead, The Fastener andKnitting Ninja, are to launch the worldsfirst ‘Yarnstorm Boot Camp’ located onthe Isle of White. Taking place in October, Knit the City

will teach 12 to 14 wannabe knitters

over a three-day period, before allowingthe students to graduate.“We get asked so often if people can

join us and how they can start up them-selves. Seeing as we are keeping Knitthe City to just the four of us, we wanteda way to teach others to get involvedand go out and start their own groups,”says O’Farrell. “Our pupils will enterhumble and timid and they will go outas sneaky stitchers, I think the Isle ofWight can expect to be overrun withknitted creatures by the time we getround to it.”As more yarnstormers are recruited in

the future, it seems as though themovement will continue to soften theshady image of street art.“Most people love what we do, they

usually find it quite odd, but it doesmake people smile,” adds O’Farrell. “Ican’t see that ever changing, and I can’tsee myself changing what I do either.”

Are you a graffiti knitter? Post yourpictures at www.suburbanmag.com.

OUR PUPILS WILL ENTERHUMBLE AND TIMID ANDTHEY WILL GO OUT ASSNEAKY STITCHERS.

“”

“...The Isle of Wight can expectto be overrun with knittedcreatures by the time we getround to it.”


Top:‘Tagging’ in Trafalgar Square. Right: A phone box cosy. Bottom: Knit The City’s homage to street artist Banksy.

“Most people love what we do,they usually find it quite odd,but it does make people smile.”

FEATURE

Top:‘Tagging’ in Trafalgar Square. Right: A phone box cosy. Bottom: Knit The City’s homage to street artist Banksy.

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Luke Powell: What is the fascinationwith dinosaurs, and how many doyou have in Bristol?

Andy Council: I’m not actually sure howmany I have; the thing with street workis that it keeps going up and disappear-ing, some of it stays and some of it getspainted over very quickly. That said, I also do mural work for localschools, so quite a few of my thingsstay around a fair bit, I’d say thereare around eight pieces in Bristol atthe moment.As for my fascination with dinosaurs…It kind of developed out of some illus-trations I did a while ago for a recyclingcompany. I drew some monstersmade out of rubbish and they kindof developed out of that into a Bris-tol city dinosaur that people kind oftook to. It’s got a life of its own beyondthat, and yeah, I do like dinosaurs aswell. They are interesting and so theyare interesting forms to go with.

I heard that you had some prettyunusual drawing habits as childtoo?

Yeah, I remember I went through a re-ally heavy phase when I was in juniorschool where I’d draw weird things likesquirrels with laser guns and beaverswith Gatling guns. I guess it is the sortof thing you do as a child...

Have you everthought to revisitthose times?Not recently, al-though I was think-ing about them theother day.

Do you have afavourite piece atthe moment?

From a prestigelevel, I would saythe piece I did inthe M-sheds mu-seum in Bristol.It’s a real achieve-ment to be inside amuseum settingand it was exe-cuted really well.I also really like the piece I did down inStokes Croft, which is a three-storeyhigh, purple dinosaur. I had a couple ofpeople help me on that one and it tookthree or four days to do, but it turnedout really well.

Do you prefer working out in thestreet or in your studio?

Sometimes I quite enjoy working out onthe street and it’s quite a satisfaction ifyou’re aiming to get a piece of workdone in a day out on a wall. It can bevery strenuous though, the last piece I

did really knackered me out. It was justa long wall by a skate park and I just didit for fun, but I was pretty knackered thenext day. My joints are getting a bit older and allthat crouching down gets to you. Thepaint fucks you up a bit too.

I read that your studio might begetting knocked down this year, isthis true?

Yeah it keeps changing as to what weare told, but maybe in December. They are going to knock the entire library

INTERVIEWEXHIBIT

ANDY COUNCILIF YOU HAVE BEEN TO BRISTOL INTHE LAST TEN YEARS THEN THECHANCES ARE THAT YOU WILLHAVE SEEN AT LEAST ONE OFCOUNCIL’S HUGE PREHISOTRICPIECES. WE VISITED THE ARTIST’SSECRET STUDIO IN BRISTOL TOTALK ABOUT THE CITY, STREETART AND MOST IMPORTANTLY,DINOSAURS.

39 SUB-URBAN AUGUST 2012

Top: Council’s three-storey high dinosaur in Stokes Croft.Bottom: Andy Council.

down and build a new one up the road. I think this site will be turned into a loadof two bedroom flats with no on-streetparking – good for everyone.

Do you think that the art scene inBristol has benefitted the city in anyway?

I think it has yeah, I think it’s broughtmore people in and with that,brought in more money. That said, Isometimes think there’s starting tobe an oversaturation of creative peoplecoming here, especially for the amount

of work that is available.

Do you think that other cities couldbenefit in the same way Bristolhas from the art scene?

Yeah, of course. I find it quite un-usual going to other places in theUK and seeing hardly any street arton the walls.When I went up to Newcastle, I sawthat they were investing moremoney into their culture, includingpromoting their street art scene. I think at the end of the day, a lot of

it goes on what the council say.We’re lucky that we have RuthEssex who’s a bit of a maverickwithin the institution.She’s passionate about art and hasorganised a lot of art space in the city.

How is the future looking for you, doyou think you’ll continue?

I think so yeah, people carry on doing ita long while, but it’s not going to get anyeasier as you get older.

Visit: http://www.andycouncil.co.uk/

Photographs by Luke Powell


Top: Council’s three-storey high dinosaur in Stokes Croft.Bottom: Andy Council.

Top: Council’s studio that he shares with four other artists.Left: Council’s contribution to the ‘See No Evil Project’. Right: Artistsspray painting in Bristol.

INTERVIEWROMANYWG56-YEAR-OLD JEREMY GIBBS, AKAROMANYWG, HAS BECOME AWELL-KNOWN NAME IN THEWORLD OF URBAN EXPLORATION.FOLLOWING HIS BOOK ‘BEAUTY INDECAY’, WE CAUGHT UP WITH THEEXPLORER TO LEARN ABOUT HISURBEX ROOTS.

EXHIBIT

Luke Powell: How did you becomeinvolved in urban exploration?

RomanyWG: I can’t speak for every-one, but for me it all started when theBest Ever Crew – a group of graffitiartists - asked me if I would look at anabandoned asylum to see if it waspossible for them to paint there. I actually drove straight past the secu-rity – I’m much wiser these days – andwalked around the site, but all of thebuildings were secure.That night I Googled the name of theasylum and was amazed at just howmany pictures came up of the inside ofthe building – the very inside that Icould find no access to. I went back the next week and triedanother entry point, this time withoutgoing right past the security. This time Imanaged to see through the broken win-dows, and saw the years of abandonment,

I was hooked, as this to me was beautyin decay. It was nature taking over after manyyears of neglect.Unfortunately a security guard wasdoing his rounds and I walked right intohim. But it was after that, that I had tofind out how these photographers, or asI was soon to find out, urban explorers,got into these buildings.

What was it that interested you themost about urban exploration? Wereyou surprised to find that there wasan entire community dedicated to it?

To start with it was meeting new peoplethat had the same interests as me. Itwas cool to go exploring with othersand spend the whole day in these vastasylums. That very first ‘explore’ ofWest Park Hospital, in Epsom, Surrey,was the first of over 30 visits and I still

hadn’t seen the whole place – it wasvast to say the least. It was also, to thisday, one of my favourite places to walkaround, so much left there in situ.

There are many dangers associ-ated with urban exploration, haveyou ever found yourself in acompromising position?

I'm sure I have inhaled asbestos dustand copious amounts of pigeon shit,but with asbestos it takes 40 years tokill you, by which time I'll be lucky to bealive anyway. I had my car set on fire whilst I was tak-ing pictures in an abandoned abattoir inFrance, and I was left 40 miles fromParis with no car, no passport and nomoney it was no fun.One of the contributing photographersto Beauty In Decay fell 20 feet onto hisback and broke his neck last year. He's


Top: Beelitz Left: ‘Main Hall’. Right: A medieval chapel.

“

”

okay now, but this was in a location hehad visited many times before, he justforgot that they had removed the floorfrom that particular floor.

What type of buildings do you findyourself exploring more, and what isit that you appreciate about thesesites?

I find myself more drawn to places thatare really beautiful in their decay.I am just about to go on a ten-dayroad trip around Italy, and there aresome amazing castles, chateausand palaces just slowly rottingaway, it’s unbelievable. Usually once I have explored anddocumented a site, I research asmuch as I can about the location. Ifind the history of these places fas-cinating.

What has been your favourite loca-tion so far?

Ask me in another week and it might bedifferent, but I guess it has to be Beelitz.Beelitz is a hospital complex in Ger-many and it was the first place I reallywanted to visit. It looked so impressivefrom the pictures on the net. Unfortunately since those early photo-graphs the place has been heavily van-dalised except for the few buildings thatwere secure, but those few buildingsare quite stunning.

Your book, Beauty in Decay hasbeen incredibly successful. How bigwas the team behind it, and whatwas the main reason for you tocreate it?

I had 50 photographers from 14 different

countries working on it, so it was prettybig. At the time there didn't seem to be anyphotographic books on urban explo-ration and it was something that Ithought others would be interested in. Whilst I was working on Beauty inDecay, Forbidden Places came out andthen Detroit in Ruins came out aboutthe same time.

What made you choose that title?It was always a working title, and I didn’texpect it to be used. There was a Flickrgroup called Beauty of Decay, and I justthought Beauty in Decay sounded moreappropriate.

Can we expect a second book? Yes, I’m currently working on Beauty inDecay II, which should be out aroundSeptember.

I’M SURE I HAVEINHALED AS-

BESTOS DUSTAND COPIOUSAMOUNTS OF

PIGEON SHIT.

Photographs by Jeremy Gibbs


Top: Beelitz Left: ‘Main Hall’. Right: A medieval chapel. Top left: ‘Best Ever Crew’ art work. Top right: An abandonedbedroom. Bottom left: Cooling tower. Bottom right: Inside WestPark Asylum.

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