Mathieu Cardosi

In my work, I strive to capture the transience of our built environment and the haunting beauty of abandoned urban ruins. The landscape, shaped by natural erosion and the decay of modern structures, fascinates me for how it reveals the fleeting nature of time.

Urban ruins are spaces out of time, abjected from the rest of society yet amassing their own counter-cultural following through urbex forums and word of mouth. Like the medieval enchanted forest, they confront wanderers with the never ending cycle of decay which governs life, blurring the line between nature and culture. Yet despite this liminality, urban ruins are also deeply rooted in history, capturing the past in eerie stillness. Once symbols of progress and innovation, they evoke Mark Fisher's notion of “lost futures”, or past imaginings of the future which never came to be.

Through the use of layered and elusive brushwork, I strive to convey this sense of volatility, historicity and fragmentation. I’m also interested in how scale can create a sense of intimacy and smallness. In my most recent work, I introduce elements of fantasy into the architecture, to elicit a sense of childhood wonder and of being in a dream-state. My goal is to evoke feelings of awe in regards to these discarded elements of the landscape to meditate on the beauty and fragility of life.