What is it about abandoned buildings that is so compelling? Given that the theme of this week’s photo challenge is ‘abandoned’ I’m obviously not the only person to think so. I find abandoned buildings sad and lost – and can’t help wonder about their stories and the stories of those who lived/worked/died there.
Dad is the same way – over the years he has painted many decrepit old barns and derelict buildings of all shapes and sizes. A few years back he was fascinated by the facade of one of Victoria’s old brick buildings that had carefully been salvaged and propped up prior to the property’s redevelopment. The project had been in limbo for a while when he started working on the painting and we captured all the stages of its development in this short (less than a minute) time-lapse photo video.
Partway through you can see two figures appear – and though the whole painting is interesting and full of intriguing details, it is their presence that I am most curious about. What are they doing? Who are they? What are they talking about?
Depending on my mood and how optimistic I am feeling about the world, they are two heroin addicts finding a quiet corner to shoot up – or they are activists scoping out the empty lot as a possible place to do a bit of guerrilla farming – or, they are young lovers who just wanted to sneak away from their respective day jobs for a quick snuggle…
If you click on the link to the image (for some reason, I don’t have a copy to upload from this computer) you can zoom in on different areas to better read the graffiti, etc. If you have a closer look at the seated figure you might notice some similarity to yours truly… Dad had me pose (out on the deck, if I remember correctly) and then based that person (druggie/world-saver/hussy?) in the painting on the photos and sketches.
The process wasn’t unlike what I do when I create fictional characters in my novels – I am often inspired by real people I meet and then plunk them into some alternate world and make them hang out with people they would never meet in their actual lives. The fact I am sort of in this painting does nothing whatsoever to help me know the story behind whatever conversation it is those two might be having… and Dad isn’t saying.
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