Lost Paradises

Jonk discovered his love of photography at an early age during a school exchange. At the age of 19 he travelled to Barcelona and added a love of travel to his passions; he has since visited over 70 countries. He discovered urban exploration living in Paris as a urban and graffiti artist and fell in love with the city's unseen side and abandoned places. With time, his interest focused on what appeared to him to be the strongest in this vast subject of abandonment: Nature taking over. In March 2018, he releases the book Naturalia on the topic. Three months later, at age 33, he quits his job in finance to fully dedicate himself to this project. In April 2021, his publishing house Jonk Editions publishes the volume II. Jonk has released seven other books. His work has been featured in prestigious paper publications (Der Spiegel, Corriere della Sera, Lonely Planet, Le Monde, GQ, Telerama…) as well as on prestigious web platforms (National Geographic, New York Post, Smithsonian, ArchDaily, AD, BBC…). He received various distinctions in international contests with Honorable Mentions (International Photography Awards, ND Awards), nominations (Fine Art Photography Awards), Silver Awards (Tokyo International Foto Awards, Moscow International Foto Awards), places in shortlists and is winner of the Earth Photo 2020 and Environmental Photographer of the Year 2022 photo competitions. In 2022, Jonk held his first immersive personal exhibition at the Château du Plessis-Macé where an impressive scenography occupied the 160m² of a black box. The same year he took part in two institutional group exhibitions: L’impossible Sauvage at the Musée d’Ethnographie de Neuchâtel in Switzerland and Exodes in Saint-Raphäel. This is the first international exhibition of contemporary art of the city. Jonk is the founder and manager of Editions Tempus Fugit, Galerie Nature Forte and of the Gravity Festival.