Life After Death
Houses are built to shelter the course of a human life or family of lives. These feral houses, photographed in Detroit, no longer serve the same purpose. They still stand, but they have been reclaimed by nature.
The absence of human presence in the photos sharpens the contrast. They stand alone, emptied of occupants and of their original meaning. They stand only for the observer, as a reminder of what was lost.
Whether they were abandoned or neglected so long that abandonment was the only option left, the end result is the same: Mother Nature now rules these buildings.
The growth that inhabits a space once used by people proves that the houses are more than just monuments to decay. They have taken on a new meaning as the birth of life in the midst of a city in decay.
The beauty lies in the opposition between destruction and creation. People would do well to remember that destruction implies the chance to build anew.