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Everything in society these days is homogenized,
wrapped in plastic, antibacterial, sealed for your protection. But
what happens when the doors are locked forever?
These buildings hold years of history within their
walls. They tell secrets and stories unimaginable to the normal
person. I consider it my goal, my privilege, to pull them out of
these beautiful derelictions through my photography. Scratches from
patient fingernails in agony piercing lead paint, lines of a sunset
bursting through broken window panes, rusted machinery gears ground
to a halt, moldy employee records of night rounds declaring "all
is quiet...."
They all have stories to tell. And I am listening.

Worcester State Hospital, 2007, by Rana
X.
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self portrait, Kings Park Psychiatric
Center, 2007
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My
earliest memory of fascination with the abandoned began when I was
in my early teens on a trip with my family to Ellis Island. "What's
in THOSE buildings??" I kept asking over and over while staring
in awe at the derelict structures on the closed South Side of the
island. "Why can't we look over THERE??"
I'm
a 27 year old graphic designer and photojournalist currently living
in North Jersey with a BA in Photography and a BA in Graphic Design.
I am an art and advertising director for a medical equipment manufacturer,
and I also do freelance photojournalism for quite a few weekly papers
in the North Jersey area.
Photojournalism
portfolio can be found here,
and graphic design portfolio can be found here
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self portrait, 2007
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