This post is also available in: French

The intention of the documentary “Derelict Days” was to cover three European capitals: Prague in the Czech Republic, Tallinn in Estonia and Berlin in Germany. In each of these places I undertook research to find abandoned sites, whether they had an industrial past, were synonymous with an occupation, or just relics of a bygone era.
The former Soviet bloc has left behind the traces of industrial decline such as the Poldi steel works on the outskirts of Prague, but also of oppression, such as in the Patarei prison in Tallinn, Estonia. On the contrary, in Germany it is progress and the power of the economy that have led to the abandon of places that are no longer adapted. The old Güterbahnhof train station in northern Berlin is today falling down and the demise of this once bustling hub is all the more poignant when you hear the comings and goings of the S-Bahn commuter train only a few steps away! What I wanted to show through this documentary is the poetry, albeit somewhat cynical, of these places, where women and men once worked and which are today only anonymous ruins soon to be forgotten.
The magnificent architecture of these memorials is disappearing, left to abandon or being destroyed, even though it represents part of the heritage of each country! The biggest problem I had was getting around the numerous legal restrictions preventing access, or just the sheer danger of being there: presence of asbestos, collapsing ceilings, crumbling structures, vandalism or squatters.
I was one of the last photographers authorized to go into Paterei prison; access is totally forbidden since December 2016.