Ex Utopia

Vanishing worlds & abandoned places documented by @DarmonRichter | Dark tourism & Cold War relics | Post-communist landscapes | Tour dates at the link.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

#NewBelgrade

An afternoon exploring the neighbourhoods of New Belgrade with art historian Vladana Putnik Prica.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

#Belgrade.

1. House of Mihailo Petrović
2. Statue of Despot Stefan Lazarević
3. Russian Tsar Tavern
4. Inside the Genex Tower

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

Odessa Catacombs, Ukraine.
7 September 2013.

I took these photos exactly 10 years ago today – my first trip into the Odessa Catacombs, one of the world's largest urban labyrinths, with a total length of tunnels believed to extend as far as 2,500 km.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

@ReinkePhotos Sorry! I got confused. This image was made with MidJourney, but the tool I used for checking whether my work was included in training sets is here: https://t.co/fISUyuUMJt

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

"A Brutalist Xanadu beneath pink skies, where strange children play in the rivers of wine."

There's a tool to check if your photos or art have been used in AI training sets. Mine very much have. Playing with these images, from time to time I’ve been experiencing deja vu…

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

@ReinkePhotos That was MidJourney.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

The Disneyfication of #Skopje, #NorthMacedonia.

Wonderful, raw, authentic concrete is slowly consumed by plastic plaster and fake pillars. The “Skopje 2014” project, aimed at remodelling the whole city in this new style, is reported to have cost the country ~€560 million.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

From iconic works like the National Palace of Culture (NDK) and Hotel Rila, to some less visited gems tucked away in the suburbs... in this new article, I’ve explored 10 of the most noteworthy examples of Modernist architecture in #Sofia, #Bulgaria.

https://t.co/GoedmX70Dq

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

@Hunor10 Yeah, honestly, I think it was a much better story than the script they went with. It expanded the world rather than shrinking it.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

The extraordinary interiors of the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.
(Architects V. Gopkalo and V. Grechina, 1976-1989)

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

Photos:
1. Snowstorm, Dec 2018.
2. Ritual Hall, Feb 2015.
3. Outer gallery in fog, Mar 2015.
4. Graffiti reads “The Bulgarian Chernobyl,” Mar 2016.
5. Mosaics in the Ritual Hall, Oct 2017.
6. Inside the red star, Oct 2017.
7. Outer ring mosaics, Sept 2017.
8. Sunset, Oct 2016.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

“Let the pathways leading here, to the legendary Buzludzha Peak… never fall into disrepair.”
- Todor Zhivkov at the opening ceremony, 23 August 1981.

The #Buzludzha Memorial House –the “People’s Monument,” as it was conceived by architect Georgi Stoilov– is 42 years old today.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

This time last month, I attended an exhibition of art by Maria Prymachenko, inside the Ukrainian House International Convention Centre in Kyiv. Don't get me wrong, the art was great... but I confess I spent a lot of my time there gazing up at this ceiling instead.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

Yesterday was the 79th anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Uprising. Over these two months towards the end of WWII, 250,000 civilians would lose their lives, and 90% of the city’s buildings would be destroyed.

Warsaw Uprising Monument. Jacek Budyn & Wincenty Kućma, 1989.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

Chernihiv, #Ukraine.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

Renovation work at Interhotel Veliko Turnovo.

I've just been sent these images showing the latest progress. It looks as though they're doing a good job of preserving the original look and feel of the building, though I'm curious what they're going to do with the interiors.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

Sunflowers and storm clouds on the road to Slavutych, #Ukraine.

We visited Irpin, Bucha and Borodyanka on Thursday. Chernihiv and Slavutych on Friday. I have seen a lot, and heard many stories. It has been incredibly difficult.

But in between there are also moments of beauty.

[Ex Utopia @ex_utopia]

#Kyiv. Still standing, still beautiful.