Mike Vos

Mike Vos is a musician, artist and social worker originally hailing from Southern California. He moved to Portland, Oregon in 2004, yet continues to travel extensively with his musical projects. He has shared his music and art all across the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and nearly all of Europe.

His passions have brought him in contact with numerous cultures, lifestyles, and landscapes, where he draws deeply from for his photographic installations and artistic visions. He’s world renowned for his commitment to creativity and social justice through the wide spectrum of artistic expression. His art is an extension of his personal and political beliefs and attempts to tell the stories of those who are underrepresented in our society.

Dead Cities

For the past several years I’ve developed an ongoing body of work entitled Dead Cities, which is a thorough documentation of abandoned and forgotten places across the world. I have traveled extensively with my musical projects and have set time aside on each trip to work on this photography series. Dead Cities is predicated on the idea that if humans collectively disappeared suddenly and mysteriously, what would the world look like without us?

My work documents houses, schools, factories, towns, zoos and everything that has been cast aside and forgotten. When I photograph an area I’m very careful not to tamper with the already existing atmosphere; I leave whatever I find exactly as it had been for both ethical and artistic reasons. The intention is to immerse the viewer into an alternate history of the world, one that exists without direct human influence. This body of work stands as an abnegation to the idea that desolation is inherently distressing. As nature reclaims these forgotten places we slip further into the fog of the past and our civilization is fully enveloped in the wild embrace of chaos.

To view more of Mike’s work please visit his website.