Landings 2018 - selecting a theme

Since I was a latecomer to Landings, I virtually had no time to think or create new content for it. So, of all topics available, I decided on using work i have created using some work I have created already.

I chose Expressions of Consequence since when I posted that image on social media, it attracted quite a lot of attention - the place is amazing but the consequence of the neglect is that you can only marvel at it through the fence as access to the insides is denied. 

For Landings 2018, I chose to focus on the Expressions of Consequence  theme since most of the work I have done during the past module. In module 2, I chose to focus on crumbling urban architecture, mostly from the 20th century but not only. That is how the Beyond the Postcard mini project was born - showing the fate of beautiful abandoned buildings across the Balkans.

The whole idea was to document abandoned places around the Balkans and this one is maybe the best of them in terms of story.

The stories are many but maybe the most striking is that of the cover image. This house belonged to one of the richest people in Bulgaria - a wealthy banker - and  was known as 'the house with the strawberries' because of the decorative strawberries in the front yard. Throughout the years it has been a lot of things, even a movie set in the 1990s. However, after 1989, the house was sold and the new owner left it to rot. This is generally illegal since the place is a monument BUT if the place crumbles, the space can be used to build an office building which can bring much money. 

​With the work featured in Beyond the Postcard, I want to draw attention to what normal tourists rarely see and that each picture-perfect place has two faces - one good and one no one sees, except the locals. Crumbling buildings are often historical monuments - places where famous people lived and loved. They should be preserved instead of being demolished or left to rot. 

People rarely notice such buildings. However, once a picture of the place is shared on social media. it immediately becomes extremely popular and noticed.