Das Kulturhaus - Interview

Original Link
http://daskulturhaus.com/konversation/1109/

Text:
Some times in life if you are lucky, you will be connected to some truly awesome individuals. Not just one kind of awesome, but several kinds of awesome (like a Twix).

My human Twix is a fascinating and covert individual by the name of UrbanX. He takes very good photographs. Not just any photographs. He photographs individuals, events and sometimes dangerous off limits locations where no one else would roam.

It is common to photograph that which is made beautiful by efficient design. It is less common to document the beautiful uncomfortable things in a state of decay or destruction. You have to have a particular eye in order to convey the wonder in this type of situation. A particular eye, a dust mask, and no fear of heights.

I want to know what makes an individual like this tick. I also wanted to share with you all, a brilliant mind at work in some rather alternative settings. Definition of alternative meaning Decaying Asylums and two (yes two) trips to The ghost town Prypiat close to the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor.

Here is what he had to say.


1. When did you first realise your love for this type of photo documentation?

After stumbling across some urbex sites whilst clumsily googling 'Urban Photography' I felt so inspired by the explorers experiences. I was also disappointed with myself that I hadn't noticed the decaying world around me earlier. Later that week I ventured alone into the grounds, and mansion of Irish Playwright George Bernard Shaw. I fell in love with urban exploration sat there, in the remains of his writing room looking out over the swimming pool and walled gardens.

2. What has been your favourite exploration so far?

Every explore is totally unique. One of my most thrilling memorable moments had to be getting into a derelict portion of an Edwardian asylum, through a live medium-secure unit housing 'patients' stepping down from Broadmore and Rampton. It took weeks to plan, watching staff shifts 24 hours a day to work out our opportune window (during staff changeover in the middle of the night) When the night came, and we pulled it off without getting detained - the sense of achievement was exhilarating. My two biggest fears are being underground and drowning. So my first draining trip was pretty terrifying. I remember being in a tiny sewer pipe with just my head above the filth, over a mile from the nearest exit, when the chamber began to fill further. When I emerged into the daylight hours later it was spiritual.

3. Are there any locations that you would not journey to?

I generally stay away from live military installations as the punishment is suitably harsh (28 days detention without charge) but that's not to say I haven't done them. I have been offered two tours to photograph the most war torn areas of Iraq with the British forces this year, and have declined both times. I just don?t feel ready for it yet, but that?s not to say I'll never go.

4. Your site detailed your recent extended trip to Prypiat the town close to the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor, describe your feelings when first entering the town?

It's like meeting a serial killer - and their victims. I've always dreamt about the days following an apocalypse, Pripyat is the only place on earth where I can truly live the fantasy out. It's the size of Coventry, yet you can be the only person there, wandering the streets alone. You can scream and no one will hear you. You can go to a penthouse, or a jail, or the palace; there is no one there to stop you. There's always the constant reminder on the horizon of the killer, still standing there, overshadowing the city. It feels voyeuristic to even want to peer into the snapshot of peoples live that that were left behind in shear panic.

5. What is next on the agenda for UrbX?

As buildings are being demolished quicker than they are being abandoned I see the future of urbex turning towards live-site infiltrations. Personally, I was offered the chance by the BBC to record my own high profile documentary about urbex, which I'll be recording in September. If I'm honest I'm more nervous how I come across than the fact I'm going to get a well known presenter into a nuclear weapons storage facility! There's always something new in urbex which is why I never rest and I make sure there is something new on my website at least every five days.


For the record, when I got the email informing me that he was returning to Prypiat for a second time I swallowed a sizeable lump in my throat before saying hooray. What he does is wonderfully unusual, however he does take many precautions in his work and has been doing this for a considerable length of time. So with my handy badge of healthy and safety, I must say do not leave this site and starting scaling your local abandoned church or manor. Lecture over.

I have been fortunate enough to have known this man for some years now. He is truly one of the coolest people I have met.

Please go to his website and look at his work. He has been to some truly astonishing locations. The trips to the Asylums, Ukrainian Submarine Base and Animal Testing Facility is like some kind of Hell-ish Disneyland Memory Album.

Here is the site www.urbanxphotography.co.uk

I would like to say thank you to UrbanX for taking the time to sit down and answer a few questions. He is super busy right now, climbing and jumping and balancing like a long haired concrete loving Bear Grylls.

He is pretty fantastic to say the least and I'm pretty sure you're going to think so too.