The streets are looking empty and a bit eerie these days due to the global pandemic and the recommended self-isolation most of us are dealing with in hopes of protecting ourselves and everyone from the virus. It can be a bit unnerving to see cities once bursting with life and people appear completely empty and kind of abandoned now, as everyone is staying at home most of the time unless they need to go get groceries or get medical help. This reminded us of a photo exhibition by Chris Morin-Eitner that happened a couple of years ago.
Chris Morin-Eitner is s French artist, he’s passionate about photography and sometimes produces short films. He also has a degree in architecture. When he was travelling through Cambodia he was very much impressed and inspired by Angkor Wat. Angkor used to be the capital of the Khmer Empire and when you see those buildings you can’t help but think about the fact that they were probably even more impressive back then than they are now. Yet the fall of Angkor happened at some point in the 15th century and slowly nature took over.
This made Chris think about what other modern cities would look like if humanity disappeared. If all of us just sort of stopped and ceased to exist, what would our cities look like in a couple of years or decades? To explore this idea Chris Morin-Eitner took photos of popular tourist destinations and then used digital retouching to edit the pictures into what you’re seeing here. He played with colors, shadow, added wild animals and overgrown plants and foliage to achieve this post-apocalyptic effect. But this isn’t wasn’t made with a pessimistic agenda, no, Chris was just trying to show that nature is a powerful thing and it would probably bounce back and take over if we just stayed out of the way.
1.The Eiffel Tower
looking a bit worth for wear but at the same time, a layer of greenery even
adds to the charm.
2.A proud lion sitting
atop L’Arc de Triomphe, that is what true victory looks like for the king of
the jungle.
3.How long do you think
it would take for the wild animals to return to the cities and claim them as
their own once again?
4.Fludded streets,
buildings overgrown with trees and all sorts of stuff. Nature’s version of
unkempt looks better than humanity’s carelessness and dirtiness.
5.Central Park would no longer be a small oasis in the concrete jungle, all of New York would become a forest.
6.Flamingos, ostriches,
and other wildlife look so out of place in modern cities but add a bit more
greenery and they’d feel right at home.
7.So maybe giraffes on
Brookly bridge is the artist going a bit too far, but hey, it’s his art – his
vision. Plus, there’s no such thing as too many giraffes, you know?
8.Rooftop pools? More
like rooftop lakes now. Kind of vibing with this scenery though, perhaps they
should redecorate in real life. This is less sleek but way more aesthetic.
9.Would London just
become a massive swamp? Imagine the Tower Bridge with no tourists, just a whole
lot of frogs.
10.Did you know that Big
Ben would stop working within 3 days if people just disappeared? It needs to be
wound up every 3 days in order for it to work properly.
11.What would Asia look
like? Would all those glass buildings stay up for generations like the ancient
ruins do or would they break and fall apart without humans?
12.It’s a fascinating idea what Chris came up with and we wonder if he’s thinking about it more now that we’re all on lockdown.
