What lengths would you go to in order to express your art and the beauty you see to others. Would you knowingly put yourself in a position to get arrested? Photographer Dan Marbaix does exactly that for his craft. In fact he has been arrested over 20 times and has even been held at gunpoint in order to capture these incredible images. Dan travels from city to city to capture the worlds abandoned churches, schools, asylums, government buildings, houses and much more. He refuses to give up his quest to capture these beautiful and sometimes creepy settings before they are gone forever.
Dan wasn’t supposed to be in any of these places but he made it in and this is what he captured before he himself was captured.
Above is an abandoned house in Germany.
These abandoned places are so beautiful in their state of decay. Imagine them in their former glory.
What makes them so beautiful? Is it the fact that people have abandoned their homes or the fact that life goes on once they have left?
Many of these beautiful places were abandoned in the state that they were in bringing the question, what happened?
The pile of wood still sits by this incredible statuesque stove.
In this home the radio and decorations still sit on the mantle.
No matter how many times Dan gets arrested he says it is all worth it. He will keep doing it so he can share things like this abandoned asylum that nobody else would otherwise see.
In 1872 The Chambre du Commerce in Antwep, Belgium was erected but shortly shut down due to safety regulations. It is now an amazing mecca for urban explorers.
Many of these places look like they come from a horror film.
These are not fiction though. They are real places around the world that once were full of life.
I can’t help but wonder what many of these places were used for.
And why they were just left and forgotten.
What is this place?
How does Dan find out about these forgotten buildings?
I’m just glad that Dan is risking his life and career to capture such amazing images of places we would never be able to see.
Dan Marbaix will continue to photograph these haunting places in order to preserve their once vibrant life. These pictures are so beautiful in a sad and forgotten way. It is amazing how powerful the things we put aside and forget about can be.