Hi, I'm Vivian! Welcome aboard my biggest adventure. I know at some point you are probably going to wonder how this project started. It's a good question. I spent my sophomore year learning about the darkroom process and was confused about why it was absent from mainstream art. Unlike painting or digital art, I had known nothing about film negatives. I was fascinated by them. I wanted to know why the world had abandoned them. It turns out that humanity has a bad habit of leaving beautiful things behind. We always have a reason, whether related to the economy, natural disasters, development, or even death. These casualties of time remain where they once stood, once full of life, now mere skeletons. They are a warning of what is inevitable for all that is and was. So, when trying to bring film back to life, I thought I should pay homage to the other abandoned aspects of human life.

I tried not to do too much research before I entered each abandoned building. To some extent, it was because it sometimes scared me out of going at all, but mainly, I wanted to discover the building's narrative myself. I wanted to discover why people left and never returned. I wanted to uncover why the building had been abandoned using clues inside. I looked for what they left behind and what was taken. I created my hypothesis and, after I left, I conducted more research with outside help.

I had two main rules when venturing through the abandoned world. Following these helped me navigate my project safely and without disrupting anything.

1. Stay alert - Make sure you are aware of your surroundings.

2. Leave no trace - these places will only last so long. It is our job to help preserve them.

Again, thank you for being here, and welcome to this year-long discovery. Below are six parts of the journey. Get ready for a road trip across eastern America.

Series