Abandonment Issues: Land O' Lakes Motel (Under Destruction)

Urban Exploration Travel, that's what we've been doing lately. It's hit and miss. For example, you can drive for countless hours out to a prospective destination, your heart-rate rising as you get close, exuberant nervousness, excitement, and then nothing. It's gone. You can drive seven hours to Montreal to a classic spot like Malt, and not get in. It's sealed. You need to regroup, internet hawk, GPS navigate, check your notes and keep your eyes peeled.

Abandonment hunters, strapped with cameras and untamed curiosity.



Last weeks adventure took us from Toronto to Montreal, with perspective exploration or scouting stops in Perth, Smiths Falls, Ottawa, Anjou, Sorel-Tracy, Kingston, Belleville, Port Hope and Oshawa. A common theme emerged: it was the moment, the right now. Certain places that have been accessed easily by others for long periods of time, were sealed tight upon our arrival. At other locations we seemed to stumble upon a "small window" of opportunity that wouldn't exist in the moments before and after. A restaurant in the aftermath of fire. A handful of gas stations, with prices reading well below the cost of gas for this trip. A giant factory complex, that has clearly been a club for illegal rave parties. A hospital that we had to scale and a prison that ain't nobody getting into. But nothing was more timely than our approach to our first planned explore early last Wednesday morning. If not for GPS, we would likely have driven right passed it, as only three rooms were remaining of the Land O' Lakes Motel at the moment we stopped by in mid April of 2011.






































As the excavator pulled up mattresses and televisions amongst the rubble and dropped it into the dump truck, workers stood around their pick-up trucks like a herd of sloth’s, in full protective gear. White plastic, respirators hanging from necks or resting on the hood.

I had to try, I thought, and I did.

I slammed the car door and walked straight up to what remained of the building, camera in hand. They just looked at me, silently. My wife ninja IX walked about the property, a beautiful blonde diversion. Like deer in headlights they watched me climb the pile of rubble and enter the lopsided unstable building full of asbestos, or they watched her. Flabbergasted by the fact that no one stopped me, it took a second to snap out of it, lift up the camera and start shooting. I didn't want to press my luck or get injured in the remnants that were already very unstable floors before the rest of the building was torn off the side, so I made quick work of what was left of the inside, and exited.











Upon exiting, they smiled at me, all of them, with those 'what the fuck is this idiot doing' grins stuck on their muted faces. But none of them spoke, not until I asked when they started tearing her down. Monday. How long has she been abandoned? Over ten years. By Friday, she'll be gone, one of them added.











And we pulled over again at the end of June of that same year.





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Abandonment Issues: Comiaken Reserve Stone Church

Comiaken Reserve Stone Church, or Butter Church, as it was called, was built by Roman Catholic missionaries in 1870, with the help of the Cowichan Indian tribes. "Helpers were paid by the sale of butter churned by the priest" a gold plaque reads, hence it's old nickname. The missionaries were intent on gaining a following here, but by 1880, the church had been abandoned. It still sits here today, a symbol of the moment of contact between European religion and Native Indian tribes on Vancouver Island.

Here is a great write-up on the history of "Indian Stone Church" by Coast Salish artist Joe Jack.

In 2009 and 10 I spent a chunk of time riding freight trains around Vancouver Island. At this time, we were visiting with a loved one in the area, and she took us to this historic gem. We love and miss you Louise.

I also pasted up this little ditty on some driftwood in Maple Bay on that same trip...



click here to check out all of jerm & ninja IX's ABANDONMENT ISSUES

Abandonment Issues: Concord Floral

It was the spring of 1997 when the last stems were clipped on the Pink Osianas in the warmth of the greenhouse at Concord Floral. One last time, the Bridal Whites and Golden Fantasies alike were packaged into beautiful bouquets or simply bundled and shipped out across the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). Before it's closure in 1997, Concord Floral was the GTA's largest supplier of roses. Since, it has sat abandoned, and is slowly but steadily being reclaimed by nature. In an ironic twist of fate these same plants that brought prosperity are now overtaking the building that once contained them.



It was the spring of 2011 when we approached the quarter million square foot greenhouse. We stumbled onto the skeletal remains of what appeared to be a coyote. Death revealed itself to us before we entered the greenhouse, a juxtaposition of what was to come. Although the plants appear dead, there are still signs of life throughout the greenhouse, and the roses re-appear each year in greater numbers. A perennial reincarnation not granted to the coyote.



Beautiful brand new graffiti by KANE & BACON of the legendary HSA Crew drew us to our entrance.



Engulfed by a wall of heat, i immediately removed my coat and tied it to my waist, and began snapping photos. Mesmerized by the geometric patterns through the lens of my Canon Rebel stock, I traversed the skinny overgrown walkways, with ninja in tow. Awkward steps over falling trellises and overgrown roots and branches, side to side, crossing the central walkway in a loose grid. Gardening gloves, shovels, hydroponic lights, dripline irrigation, ladders, thermometers, hoses, hardhats and rakes were a sample of the things left behind.























A long central walkway bisects the length of the main greenhouse. Precariously, loose wooden planks cover a series of underground tunnels of irrigation piping. Another stark contrast, the humidity in the greenhouse and the chilling cold tunnels below. Unfortunately, none of my underground shots were worthy of posting. Next time I will bring ye olde tripod.







Upon re-opening the door and exiting the greenhouse, after an extensive explore, we were met with a wall of cold spring air colliding with our perspiring foreheads. A minute later, we were inside the heart of the main building, that would have pumped life into the greenhouse, keeping it alive, pulsing with electricity and water. A steam pressure gauge was still buzzing on the wall, breaking the otherwise impeccable silence. Footsteps and camera clicks, oohs and awws, a quick kiss, passing the camera back and forth.













As the coyote experienced first hand, everything comes to an end. This mission was no exception.



A return trip was planned to capture the greenhouse in its full glory during summer months, with the roses in bloom, but Concord Floral is under demolition.

click here to check out all of jerm & ninja IX's ABANDONMENT ISSUES

MaSAT - Madrid Street Advertising Takeover

At 5:30am on March 30th, four stealthy teams of people took to the streets of Madrid, Spain. It took them but an hour to execute the mission. 106 text-based posters replaced 106 advertisements in four different busy areas of Madrid.

Unlike the incredible imagery from the previous NYSAT and ToSAT takeovers, this time around, 106 people from varying walks of life were asked to submit a piece of text via email. The text was to be printed black and white and inserted into the adspace, all by the team in Madrid. The choice to use only text, dramatically broadened the scope of voices being heard. Instead of just artists, the voices of "a wide range of individuals including sociologist, teachers, lawyers, gallery owners and anyone with a concern for the curation and participation in public space." said organizer, curator and PublicAdCampaign founder Jordan Seiler. Bringing these new voices to the conversation in the streets is a big step forward in the fight for our democratic right to use and utilize public space.

I have the utmost respect for the people that give their time and efforts to projects such as these. Hats off to Jordan and the teams in Madrid, thank you. The photo above was my submission, it is the chorus to the last song on my upcoming album. I was writing the song when i got the invite from Jordan, and saw an opportunity to share some of the positivity i was feeling at that moment in the advertising space, as opposed to my usual critiques.

Do yourself a favour and check out the Madrid Street Advertising Takeover site and browse through the artist list, there are some truly wonderful pieces.

While there were no arrests this time around, all of the posters had been removed within five hours.



A few years back, NYSAT was a project that partly inspired Vegas and i to start our own ad takeover campaign, that we called V-TARP - The Vancouver Transit Adspace Re-appropriation Project. Over 33 artorks were installed on the privately owned public transit system before a cease and desist email came our way. Some news on the status of V-TARP is just around the corner.