An abandoned hospital. A forgotten missile silo. A vacated apartment. Regardless of the physical destination, the driving force behind Urban Exploring – or urbex – is the same: exploring that which is forgotten, worn down or hidden. It is a celebration of decay and everyday poetry, with a touch of melancholia and a rush of lawlessness.
Explorism
From the earliest explorers to urbex today, mankind has needed to seek out new, unknown and forgotten territories. This urge for conquest has borne cultural development for centuries. The ability becomes more and more topical with a situation that looks to become a global paradigm shift, in which Europe has to call forth its intrepid old explorer identity in both science and business, in order to develop new approaches to innovation. In this way, urbex is a call to enter twisted territories with curiosity and a desire for adventure, combining the entrepreneur’s dedication with the archaeologist’s thoroughness.
Everyday poetry
A yellowing photo of a bride and groom, an old shopping list or a pair of reading glasses left on a book. Urbex is saturated with everyday poetry. The discrete actions that we rarely associate with any particular value stand out in the frozen moments caught on camera by modern explorers of that which is close at hand, destroyed or inherently familiar. In this way, urbex is related to the meditative stream of mindfulness and yoga, where the focus is on a sense of presence and on celebrating the small moments. Underground archaeologists blaze a trail that documents our twisted cultural heritage as a democratic counterpart to fine culture.
Extreme status
We orchestrate ourselves via what we consume, but also through behaviour that has no material outcome. Urbex is about rediscovering forgotten objects and spaces. The focus is on the activity itself. You are only allowed to leave your footprints and to take pictures. Everything else must stay just as it was before. The strategy fits the current consumer behaviour where globalised production and digital information streams make it difficult to stand out from the crowd. Urbex functions as a means to create the cherished social distinction because it is immaterial, secret and hidden, and hence difficult to copy. In this way, a photo of an abandoned amusement park can ensure social status better than a designer handbag. Extreme status is gained through performance, not purchase.
The state of things
The things we surround ourselves with provide insight into ourselves, our priorities and our dreams. Urbex contains a desire to explore the things that have been left behind and are therefore considered unimportant. It is like exploring a graveyard of human activity. The absence of life conditions the experience because it inspires images of the presence that is now absent. In this way, urbex is symptomatic for the current market, which moves away from materialism as ownership and towards a sustainable wealth of experiences to be shared and protected. Things acquire a new function that creates cohesion rather than division, and – paradoxically – they get their value by not being something you can possess, but rather through the stories they hold.
Risk management
Urbex involves risks because the places entered are usually hidden, sealed or off limits. Adrenalin is the pleasant side effect, and as a result the end justifies the means when the law is broken, safety measures are bypassed and personal integrity is ignored. It is a sort of crime of passion, where the longing for excitement coupled with childlike curiosity ignores the ethically acceptable. The trend is clear among today’s consumers where the homeless are hailed as fashion icons and where everybody from albinos to amputees take their places, as everything from actors to campaign models, in the lifestyle industry. It is a relativism of values, which is positive in its challenging of norms for beauty, but also problematic when the morally defensible aspects are ignored.
Trash flash
The trash aesthetic is both a visual expression and a lifestyle that appeals to many present-day consumers. That which is weathered and abandoned holds a special beauty and freedom, of which urbex is an exponent. We seek authenticity as a source of meaning in an age in which historic parameters like religion, family and ideology can no longer deliver. Here, the abandoned, ugly and lawless give us the authentic rush – a trash flash – we long for. Intrusion onto forbidden ground or the registration of decay reflect the individual’s need for control, co-creation and movement. The ideal lies in living on the edge, with a maximum absence of restrictions and boundaries.
If you are not a current subscriber to SCENARIO or a member of The Copenhagen Instititute for Futures Studies, then get in touch with us or subscribe here.
