sharjah 2026
“When abandonment becomes aesthetics“
This series of photographs offers an immersion into the captivating world of abandoned places, where each site bears witness to the passage of time and the imprint left by man.
These different sites and buildings – industrial, cultural, residential, religious or military – tell invisible stories.
The dilapidated structures, invaded by nature or set in dust, evoke both past grandeur and the inexorable return to a wild state.
The aesthetic of abandonment, between raw beauty and melancholy decline, offers a unique look at the impermanence of our constructions and the strength of living things.
Each image captures a suspended moment, where silence, eroded materials and subdued lighting create a poetry of emptiness.
This visual journey invites us to contemplate a world in retreat, where oblivion becomes memory: a fascinating glimpse into human history, decadence and resilience.
Buran program (Kazakhstan)
The space shuttle program launched in 1976 failed to survive the dislocation of the USSR. The huge shed doors closed on the two shuttles under construction, putting an end to this ambitious and costly Soviet space program. The space shuttle program will never be resumed.
Energia M rocket (Kazakhstan)
In a giant shed at Baikonur, the Energia M rocket appears to be ready for a mission. Abandoned since the early 90s, it sleeps, frozen in time. A tiny silhouette below reveals the immensity of the place, like a forgotten cathedral dedicated to space dreams.
Industrial heritage (Hungary)
Under an art deco glass roof that looks like a spaceship, the control room of an abandoned thermal power plant is both a place of technological power and a work of architecture, bearing witness to an era when industry and design went hand in hand. It embodies the memory of a bygone progress, frozen in silence.
Theatre of yesteryear (USA)
This old theatre, with its empty seats and stage cluttered with forgotten furniture, reveals a richly decorated architecture frozen in time. A nostalgic atmosphere emanates from this deserted place, witness to a bygone artistic past.
The cement factory (Italy)
In the heart of this abandoned cement plant, concrete columns stand like guardians of the past. A play of light and shadow dances across the vaults, revealing the raw, silent beauty of this forgotten industrial cathedral.
Shore theatre (USA)
In the total darkness of an abandoned American theatre, the light of an electric torch reveals the vestiges of a bygone grandeur. Beneath the weathered ceiling, adorned with faded paint, lies a silent stage, where every detail recalls the memory of sumptuous shows.
The tank (Georgia)
In this ancient water tank perched above the city, artificial light reveals the strange geometry of the ceiling. Spiralling, sculpted forms emerge from the shadows, creating an intricate architecture halfway between functionality and sensuality.
The reservoir (France)
Beneath the forgotten vault of an ancient drinking water reservoir, the echo of silence echoes over the still water. The stone oozes time and the light filters through like a memory, revealing the arches of a sunken sanctuary, where water keeps the memory of the men who used it.
The forgotten greenhouse (Italy)
In this greenhouse with its broken glass roof, nature has reclaimed its rights. Plants soar into the light, piercing the silence of an abandoned botanical garden. Glass mingles with rust and foliage to weave a wild, luminous poetry.
Roman Baths (Italy)
In the heart of these forgotten Roman baths, water stagnates in silence, surrounded by peeling blue walls. The worn stones and subdued lighting evoke whispers of a distant past, when bodies found refuge and soothing in the baths.
The strongbox (USA)
In the bowels of a forgotten bank, an ancient safe lies open, gutted, its rusty compartments emptied of their secrets. Silence reigns between the steel walls, where many fortunes and secrets once slept hidden from view.
Desoto Firedome 1953 (USA)
Buried in the vegetation, this old American car with its menacing grille seems frozen in mid-race, maintaining a defensive, almost animal posture. Rust slowly devours its green bodywork, while nature patiently embraces it, transforming the machine into a plant sculpture.
The diner (USA)
A forgotten American diner. Tarnished chrome and torn banquettes still echo the liveliness that once reigned here. Dust covers all the furniture, but the soul of the place persists, suspended between memories of customers and faded light.
The sky is the limit (Italy)
This abandoned church, with its eroded walls and collapsed roof, lets the light in. Vegetation slowly spreads over the stone floor, returning nature to a once sacred place, now open to the elements and time.
The Coal Cathedral (Hungary)
In this immense abandoned thermal power plant, the dark, soot-covered walls evoke the blackness of the coal with which it once operated. Metal walkways and dizzying heights give the place the air of an industrial cathedral, where only the echoes of the past can be heard.
Collateral damage (Cyprus)
Nicosia’s old airport bears the scars of a history marked by violent conflict. Abandoned since the 1974 war, only dusty seats and faded signs remain, testifying to a once bustling place. Conflicts persist in the vicinity of this forgotten place.
Mig in the snow (Hungary)
This abandoned MIG bears witness to a bygone era. A time when these prestigious aircraft were the pride of the Hungarian air fleet. In the icy cold and atmosphere revealed by this photo, it seems to lie in wait for an enemy that will never come again, a solitary remnant of the Cold War, between oblivion and memory.
The disenchanted merry-go-round (Cyprus)
Alone in the middle of a barren field, this abandoned merry-go-round remains the last bastion of this fairground’s joyous past. Once alive with laughter, it is now encircled by vegetation. Its empty seats sway nonchalantly in the wind.
The forgotten track (Romania)
Covered in rust and overgrown with vegetation, this old steam locomotive lies at the heart of a green setting. Abandoned many years ago, it is gradually blending into the landscape, where nature is slowly erasing the traces of its industrial past.
Silence between the walls (Portugal)
A long corridor stretches in a straight line through the heart of an abandoned prison. It extends under a pale light filtered through a partially broken glass ceiling. The symmetrical architecture guides the eye to the end of the corridor, bordered on either side by decrepit cells. This place, frozen in time, exudes solitude and desolation.
Sanatorium (Georgia)
In the heart of an abandoned sanatorium, suspended concrete staircases bear witness to the passage of time. This health center, which operated during the Soviet era, has been transformed into a ruin where nature has reclaimed its rights. This forgotten place, a veritable open-air labyrinth, exudes a mysterious atmosphere.
Bouzloudja, the collapsed memory (Bulgaria)
The Bouzloudja, former home of the Bulgarian Communist Party, is a brutalist structure abandoned in 1989, when Communism fell. A place steeped in memory, of shattered grandeur, where the ideology of a bygone past still emanates from every weathered detail. The contrast between the monumental ambition of the architecture and its current abandonment gives the site a unique, almost theatrical visual power.
Italian theatre (Italy)
This sumptuous, abandoned theatre stands before our eyes. The baroque decor and sculpted balconies denote an architectural richness characteristic of Italian art. The ruined stage and collapsed ceiling bear witness to a glorious past now forgotten. A melancholy atmosphere emanates from this deserted place steeped in history.
Prison (USA)
In the United States, the silent corridors of this abandoned prison reveal walls chipped by the erosion of time. The rusting cells bear witness to a bygone prison past, when the echo of footsteps and voices echoed between the bars.
Paramount Theatre (USA)
Beneath the rubble, an abandoned theatre fights against oblivion and the ravages of time. Despite the collapsing ceiling, the soul of the place remains. It’s easy to imagine the theatrical performances of yesteryear, greeted by thunderous applause.