Dezeen Magazine

Days Lost by Katja Mayer and Peter Chadwick

An exhibition of photographs depicting abandoned vehicles and derelict buildings surrounded by colourful clouds of paintball smoke by Hackney-based photographer Katja Mayer and art director Peter Chadwick is opening this evening at The Print House Gallery, London.

Days Lost by Katja Mayer and Peter Chadwick

The photographs were taken on a woodland paintball range, where the discarded structures are used as hiding places for gamers.

Days Lost by Katja Mayer and Peter Chadwick

Hackney, where the exhibition is being held, is one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games and home to Dezeen’s offices, so starting this week we're showcasing creative projects that were designed there - take a look at the first few here.

Days Lost by Katja Mayer and Peter Chadwick

Read some more information about the exhibition below:


Days Lost

The Print House Gallery is pleased to present the collaborative photographic project ‘Days Lost’ by Katja Mayer and Peter Chadwick as the first London venue to host the exhibition.

Days Lost by Katja Mayer and Peter Chadwick

On display is a series of photographic works depicting mythical landscapes of unidentified and disused buildings or abandoned vehicles, often covered by a blanket of smoke. Both beautiful and unsettling, the scenes reflect man’s relationship with nature, seduction and terror lying within the stillness of these eerie sites. The distinction between reality and fiction remains largely ambiguous, the images evoking larger narratives beyond the frame. Only the trace of a human subject is indicated in the form of acidic coloured clouds, emphasising an absence and sense of loss within the work.

Days Lost by Katja Mayer and Peter Chadwick

Katja Mayer is a German born photographer and artist based in London. She has recently completed an MA in Photography at the London College of Communication. Peter Chadwick is a British art director and graphic designer living and working in London. He regularly teaches at Chelsea School of Art. Their collaborative project has previously been exhibited as part of the recent group show ‘The Wonders of the Visible World’ at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art in Sunderland.

The images are accompanied by a short fictional text by John-Paul Pryor, contributing arts editor at Dazed Digital and AnOther Magazine.