NICK BRANDT

This Empty World was made on Maasai land in Kenya, where Brandt photographed indigenous animals in their natural habitat. Almost always keeping the camera in the exact same position, he then built temporary urban structures in the same location, a highway flyover, a petrol station, re-photographing the transformed space. Brandt combines the two images in post-production, composing dramatic scenes that confront urgent environmental issues, such as the scarcity of resources.

The series, shot mostly at night, shows the neon glow of urban lights illuminating passive crowds and displaced animals. In This Empty World, Brandt makes powerful and haunting images revealing not only the mounting tension between animals and humans, but also the mutual suffering shared by both as victims of environmental devastation.

Seven selected works from This Empty World are available. You can view the work here.

The complete series will be exhibited in February 2019, and will be accompanied by the related monograph, to be published by Thames & Hudson.