Empty Spaces: Photo Book Documents Eerie Urban Ruins

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Crumbling cathedrals, decaying theaters and half-destroyed camping cabins: urban explorer Johnny Joo has seen it all, and he doesn’t just document these abandoned places, he does so with an eye for spine-tingling drama. The 23-year-old photographer is releasing his collection of stunning images in book form with ‘Empty Spaces,’ available for pre-order for just a couple more days.

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The 116-page, hard-cover photo book ‘Empty Spaces’ includes the photographer’s favorites from years of urban exploration. Pre-orders come hand-signed with a free gift; the book is also available in E-book form. Order it at Architectural Afterlife. 

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The photographs take us on a visual tour of the abandoned Rust Belt. Some structures are so covered in moss and ivy, their former use is a mystery. Others, like bowling alleys and theaters, seem frozen in time, as if they’re just waiting for patrons to start filing back in.

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Why were these places vacated? And why are they left to sit, uncared for? The remains of a person’s bedroom, bed still intact, covered in a layer of mold and dust. Walls surrounding with cracked complexions and vivid, yet transparent voices telling a story of time. Living through the history of abandonments as you explore what once was an entirely different scene; now transformed into a desolate, yet incredible, stimulating image of complex patterns and great detail. Through this book, we will take a journey through the rust belt to see the unseen and find the forgotten.”