#MIL@NO PHOTO AWARD 2020 International Fine Art Exhibition

Rusty Orange Urbex Photography, shortened form of Urban Exploration Photography, is a branch of architecture photography that explores the urban habitat. Mystery, curiosity and passion for the forbidden characterize this genre, which documents the decadent charm of the abandoned buildings and the re-appropriation of these places operated by nature. In these sites, usually old factories or derelict residences, all sorts of oddities can be found, from antique furniture to old machines, from stacked crockery to dusty books; each forgotten object contributes to give to the photographic subject this dark and mysterious atmosphere.

With his selection of artworks Rusty offers a wide view on this genre, by submitting three photographs, taken in three different places, but united by the same subject: the staircase. In S.A.C.C.I. the staircase, view from above, intriguing the viewer and conducing him to lean out, symbolically, in order to discover what is hidden at the end of it, in a perspective game reminding the masterpieces of Escher; instead, in De Naeyer, the mystery gives way to a sense of decadence, visible in the plaster peeled off from the ceiling, which contrasts, however, with the elegance of the ancient Belgian building, embellished by delicate decorative details, such as the stained glass window and the refined motif with golden shoots running along the walls under the ceiling.

The same contrast returns in Orfanotrofio, in which a broad and stately staircase, frontal framed, embracing the view of the spectator, by introducing him in a rich but decadent hall with a decorated pavement. Here the ivy covering the floor, the plaster peeled off and a wild garden visible through the window, remind the words of the artist, by which “more quickly than you might expect, grass will sprout through roads, trees will engulf buildings and wildlife will return to city streets. Eventually nature will reclaim the environment”. Striking words which urge us to reflect on the nature’s power and on its delicate relationship with human.

Art Curator Marta Grazia M.A.D.S. Milano