Vintage Magazines + Abandoned Spaces Fuel Unique Artistic Collaboration

I suppose it’s completely natural for a photographer to continue seeking a fresh perspective. In this case, it took a whole lot of “old” to make something new.

Urban exploration in and of itself is an incredibly exciting hobby. I’m just as happy hunting waterfalls and hiking to remote locations to see something beautiful, but there’s simply a different type of feeling when you enter a long-abandoned mental health facility, school, or church.

There’s a reason it’s so popular on Instagram and all over the web. It’s exhilarating, a bit dangerous, and absolutely gorgeous.

A good friend of mine, Barbie L’Hoste (barbielhoste.com), started talking over the summer about collaborating on a project that would give some of these abandoned spaces new life.

Barbie is an artist for whom I have great admiration. She has an ability to tell stories with collage, paint, and found objects with profound depth. She does this while maintaining a sense of satire; a playfulness that isn’t pretentious or off-putting in the least.

The result is a collection titled “Outgroan.” This is a series of photographs printed on canvas combined with mixed media elements including stencils, collage, transparency, paint, and found objects.

The goal was to breathe life into these decaying spaces by inviting unlikely characters into them and creating a narrative of innocence lost. I hope you enjoy.

More info: Instagram