"The project, begun by artist Ellen Harvey in 2019, currently illustrates over 300 locales from some 40 countries, ranging from the Great Synagogue of Warsaw, the world's largest Jewish house of worship when it was blown up by the Nazis in 1943, to Bavinger House of Norman, Oklahoma, an award-winning example of organic architecture by Bruce Goff, demolished in 2016."
"Loss is the common ground on which they all stand. Indeed, it is the central conceit of Harvey's venture, whose subjects are suggested by the public in answer to the following prompt: "Is there some place that you would like to visit or revisit that no longer exists?" The result, on view at the Chicago Architecture Center in a standalone exhibition, fills three walls in an immense and overwhelmingly mournful grid."
A series of over 300 realistic paintings depicts places lost to time, war, gentrification, natural disasters, and other causes. Subjects span some 40 countries, from the Great Synagogue of Warsaw and Bavinger House to the Colossus of Rhodes and Tower Records. Subjects are suggested by the public in response to a prompt asking for places people would like to visit or revisit that no longer exist. Each scene is painted in black-and-white acrylic on 18-by-24-inch panels, finished with oil glazes, and labeled with name, location, and date of cessation. The works are installed in a dense grid, producing a mournful, postcard-like visual effect.
Read at Hyperallergic
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