Full Description
The best of urban exploration. JONK presents a collection of images showcasing abandoned places reclaimed by nature. Country houses, luxurious mansions, churches, farms, factories, institutions, train stations, planes, cars, tanks, trains, palaces, spaces of work, play, life, and death—all captured in the vivid process of returning to nature. A wide range of architectural styles, from classical to ultra-modern, is depicted under the influence of a wild and resurgent natural world. Poetic, powerful, and fascinating images that provoke reflection.
A leading figure in the world of urban exploration, JONK travels across the globe in search of abandoned places. Over time, his focus has shifted toward what he finds most compelling within this vast theme of abandonment: locations reclaimed by nature. There is something poetic, almost magical, in watching nature take back what was once hers—re-entering through broken windows and cracks into spaces built and then deserted by humans, until they are completely overtaken. This book contains 226 photographs taken in 14 countries.
About the Author
Jonk discovered his love of photography at an early age during a school exchange. At the age of 19 he traveled 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 released the book Naturalia on the topic. Three months later, at age 33, he quit his job in finance to fully dedicate himself to this project. In April 2021, his publishing house Jonk Editions publishes 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 has 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. Jonk is the founder and manager of Editions Tempus Fugit, Galerie Nature Forte and of the Gravity Festival.
