Empty Retail 13
©2009 Craig Ashby
Digital Photograph

Empty Retail 13 is a different kind of beauty found on the West Side of Manhattan. A well lit disaster. Snapple machine and Western Union sign prominent.

The insulation on the ground makes my skin and lungs itch. The shadows do a great job of adding interest while masking the horror. Once again the horror is post-apocalyptic.

I had this trip one time where I examined the idea of the apocalypse. It was in the bottom of the World Trade Center a couple of years before the attack. We had taken acid and we’re hanging out listening to a school choir perform in a beautiful atrium.

I had been reading a lot of Grant Morrison so the idea was present. I had this moment when I suddenly realized how sweet and romantic the notion of apocalypse is. It hit me with so many layers tears welled up.

Infinite bodies that do so much alone. Caged into a prison of isolation the thought of not dying alone could be a comfort. Everyone going with you and not having to do it alone is far less frightening.

On some level it is a hope that love can conquer fear. On some other nihilistic level it is a hope that it could all just stop. Right after thinking this though the reality set in.

I instantly knew that the apocalypse was just a fantasy. Just some wasted hope. I knew that this has always been going on and nothing would ever stop it.