Ravaged settings appeal to me in their own way. As I glance through the window I notice a jungle of scrap material. Dust, debris, dirt, garbage, rusty surfaces, loose paint, pipes, lengthy streams of tangled wiring, dismounted tops of water pumps, are all first-class citizens among this sordid landscape. Half abandoned brick and concrete structures calmly stack along the slope, some decapitated, some operational. Spare parts appear endlessly - a rusty refrigerator, stacks of wooden doors, planks, more inoperable water pumps, chicken wires, milk carts. A bicycle that looks to have known better times lies on the rooftop next to a broken sink. A congregation of neglected cats paces the confines of an unfinished patio. Distressed dogs growl for attention. The poultry awaits the next turn of day to fulfill its cue. Patches of leafy growth know no limits as they spread anywhere they find opportune.
A thick tree stump expands along a wedge between two brick constructions. The lower branches have been meticulously trimmed to the likeness of claws and pitchforks, giving it a ghouly, ghastly and grim sort of quality, in the words of Edgar Allen Poe. In total bondage it exists, harnessed by electrical wires, mounted laundry contraptions of rags and towels, and symbiotically occupied by climber foliage and sporadic flowery growth in loose cavities. The portion expanding beyond the rooftops, however, blooms freely and unobstructed, as if the two sections bore no relation.
Endless roofs of satellite receptacles, water pumps, and broken parts, paint the precarious scenery. Further back looms a gigantic rocky slope, shared partly by nature and partly by a cross-section of Lego houses of all color, material and residual condition.
Spaghetti roadways of bumps and cavities make room for the pedestrians, as they share the space with the motor traffic. Tiny cars and motorbikes occupy the sidewalks. Uncollected garbage occupies whatever it feels in the mood for. Doves sit peacefully along the electrical wires, observing the scenery unfold. Nature and man-made byproduct fuse together in a kind of broken harmony.
Questions, comments? Connect.