Julia Schulz-Dornburg:
Ruinas modernas. Una topografía de lucro
Editorial Àmbit Servicios Editoriales, S.A. Barcelona, 2012
ISBN 978-84-96645-14-1
www.juliaschulzdornburg.com
In Berlin until May 9, 2013:
Modern Ruins - a Topography of Profit
A photographic inventory by Julia Schulz-Dornburg
Aedes Am Pfefferberg, Christinenstraße 18-19, 10119 Berlin
www.aedes-arc.de
In Madrid until June 9, 2013:
Spain Mon Amour - Ruinas Modernas
Museo ICO, C/Zorrilla 3, 28014 Madrid
www.fundacionico.es
These photographs form part of a research project undertaken by Julia Schulz-Dornburg to document abandoned housing and leisure complexes around Spain, speculative developments that were abandoned after the property bubble burst in 2007-08. Schulz-Dornburg travelled 10,000 kilometers and documented over 60 examples during her research, supplementing her documentary photos with aerial shots, development plans and original promotional material, including florid quotes from the original developers' brochures (some of which we also include here).
The buildings pictured here are not the detritus of some apocalyptic natural event – like Pompeii after Vesuvius – but of human greed: destroyed by the very economic system that engendered them. The literal and metaphorical hollowness of these human endeavors perfectly echo the closing line of T.S. Elliot’s 1925 poem The Hollow Men: “This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.”
Schulz-Dornburg’s research formed the basis for her book Ruinas modernas: Una topografía de lucro, and two current exhibitions on show at Museo ICO in Madrid and at Aedes in Berlin.
»Residential development with sailing club,
table-tennis courts and covered swimming pool.«
»A privileged place in which to
discover the very essence of this land.«
Skeletal buildings greet you at a crossroads.
»Enjoying success in a refined high-level ambiance.«
»Chalets with 2 and 3 bedrooms, situated in an attractive resort built on high ground that lets you enjoy some incomparable sea views.«
»In its eagerness to achieve the maximum comfort for its clients, homes have been built to create a little paradise for you and your family.«
PRODUCT GROUP
MANUFACTURER
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