Nearly a decade ago I began to see Chicago's gentrification process/problem begin to level historically significant structures in and around my neighborhood. I was watching Chicago's history being squandered on a daily basis. I felt overwhelmed with a personal obligation to photograph and preserve Chicago's adored yet endangered buildings. Working digitally, with natural light, I have photographed the interiors of several hundred Chicagoland locations over the years. By composing images completely at the time of exposure, without later manipulating the photo with digital applications, I extract images that expose to the viewer an almost firsthand look into a no longer existent structure.
This specific photographic work has been a long and interesting endeavor. It has engrossed my life and thrusts me deep inside some of Chicago's most eerily beautiful abandoned/slated for demolition structures on a weekly basis. I feel very strongly about the importance of the body of work I have strived to obtain over the years. This photo collection is truly one of a kind and painfully showcases architectural changes in Chicago over the last decade.
I have risked my life on countless occasions in the pursuit of extracting pertinent images from Chicago's historical structures. Partaking in something much bigger than myself, I feel humbled by the success I've had in aggressively pursuing are forgotten yet adored sturctures. -Matt Tuteur
I’ve been to properties with notices up since 1998, walked though gates with layers of cobwebs, into homes with what is left behind – the day a family & children were evicted, the day the owners ran out of funds to complete construction, the day the owner died and the family neglected to clear the home of the deceased’s belongings. I’ve captured a home 15 years forgotten & surrounded by mansions; held my breath in a house that is a historical site, splattered with feces & opened a never ending sea of unlocked doors. I have witnessed what others have built with their own hand, garbage piece by garbage piece, while living in one of the largest cites in the world. I’ve loitered around areas to meet people & hear stories about how they have ended up taking over an abandoned home; picked up a nomad & her fishing pole to visit her train station house & met a woman who built her home from found objects around the base of a tree.
Our World Insideout was born from my young home life that was raw, violent & steeped in displacement and abandonment. The catalyst of this life long project started with documenting my own abandoned home in 2004, from the inside. Then in 2009, during the economic crash, I found a relation to the familiar emotion of loss & I started documenting other’s homes. I created the imagery with the hope that this project will incite a visual, global dialog concerning the used & unused resources; thus inspiring change. It touches on the many levels of humanity & one of the most sacred places for us : home.
Insideout is one word - There is no delineation between what happens behind closed doors and what is translated to the outside world. -Alyssa Miserendino
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I confused with a personal responsibility and keep my house esteemed yet vulnerable structures. Working electronically, with sunlight, I have captured the decorations of place over the years.
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Insideout is one word - There is no delineation between what happens behind closed doors and what is translated to the outside world. -Alyssa Miserendino
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