I often feel a particular fascination for the past, the irretrievable and seemingly long forgotten. Here I would like to show a selection of photographs that I have taken in places where the ravages of time have left their mark – places that have acquired a whole new visual power because they slowly faded into oblivion.

The series brings together abandoned sanatoriums, factories and military sites in Brandenburg – in Beelitz, Rüdersdorf and Kummersdorf – with forgotten places further afield: a theme park swallowed by the jungle on Bali, a film set on Malta, a smelter on the north coast of Taiwan and a hotel above Lake Prespa in North Macedonia. What unites them is the moment when nature begins to take back what people have left behind.

I often feel a particular fascination for the past, the irretrievable and seemingly long forgotten. Here I would like to show a selection of photographs that I have taken in places where the ravages of time have left their mark – places that have acquired a whole new visual power because they slowly faded into oblivion.

The series brings together abandoned sanatoriums, factories and military sites in Brandenburg – in Beelitz, Rüdersdorf and Kummersdorf – with forgotten places further afield: a theme park swallowed by the jungle on Bali, a film set on Malta, a smelter on the north coast of Taiwan and a hotel above Lake Prespa in North Macedonia. What unites them is the moment when nature begins to take back what people have left behind.

Long arched corridor with peeling paint in an abandoned sanatorium, Beelitz, Germany
Abandoned small house behind agaves under a stormy sky, Cozumel, Mexico
Rusted arched skeleton of a greenhouse above overgrown ruins with the sea behind, Taman Festival, Bali, Indonesia
Large mural of a woman beside an empty window on a derelict wall, Rüdersdorf, Germany
Rusty gate with a warning sign at a former military site overgrown by forest, Kummersdorf, Germany
Abandoned office with a desk and debris in front of a window, Pico, Azores, Portugal
Road sign almost entirely swallowed by climbing vines, Providencia, Colombia
Huge empty factory hall with tall window walls and four abandoned tanks, Rüdersdorf, Germany
Derelict gymnasium with a basketball hoop in front of tall windows, Kummersdorf, Germany
Ruins of an abandoned smelter on a mountain slope behind backlit silvergrass, Ruifang, Taiwan
Ruined building with an iron frame on its roof, surrounded by autumn trees, Beelitz, Germany
Stripped car wreck next to a dead tree trunk in a dry canyon, Barranca del Cobre, Mexico
Derelict factory buildings, silos and a tall chimney behind wildflowers, Rüdersdorf, Germany
Abandoned hotel with graffiti-covered balconies overgrown by trees above Lake Prespa, North Macedonia
Ruined building engulfed by jungle trees, Taman Festival, Bali, Indonesia
Weathered wooden gable with a broken window beneath bare branches, near Hamburg, Germany
Empty window openings of an abandoned prefab building seen from below, with a leaning ladder, Kummersdorf, Germany
Dark room with a wooden ladder leading up into warm light, Rinella Movie Park, Malta
Graffiti-covered concrete silo building under a grey sky, Rüdersdorf, Germany
Collapsed brick house in a forest, its walls crumbling into a pile of rubble, Cottbus, Germany
Burnt doorway of a ruined film set building with an agave stalk behind, Rinella Movie Park, Malta
Old Russian-language poster leaning against a brick wall beside a broken window, Kummersdorf, Germany
Rusted walkways and railings over concrete bunkers overgrown with trees, Duisburg, Germany
Overgrown ruin with plants growing over fallen window frames, Cottbus, Germany
Derelict carousel and swing frame on a sandy lot, Rinella Movie Park, Malta
Rusty steel stairs and a small hut overgrown with autumn vines, Duisburg, Germany
Ornate temple gate overgrown by jungle vines and plants, Taman Festival, Bali, Indonesia
Children's ride cars on overgrown tracks under palm trees in backlight, Nusa Penida, Indonesia
Abandoned factory hall seen from a rooftop at sunset, Rüdersdorf, Germany