Cities of Desire is the first presentation of an ongoing project about the North Sea and its economic landscape. The harsh conditions of the North Sea put the offshore industry amongst the ultimate symbols of man overcoming nature. Artificial cities of concrete and metal lie in an apparent empty sea. They leave a lot to the imagination.
After decades of prosperity and activity the North Sea landscape is changing. Low oil and gas prices and the exhaustion of wells have left some of the platforms abandoned. Questions about the future arise: are we looking at monuments, decaying junk, or places of new possibilities?
The project consists of pictures that were taken during a two-week residency at the maintenance ship Kroonborg (NAM), combined with archival material from different offshore operators (Shell, Total, Wintershall). Printed on sheeted steel, the photographs show North Sea platforms – sometimes up-close, sometimes seemingly floating by. The horizon shifts up and down. The scratched steel comes to life in the sunlight, evoking a previous usage. There is also a film of a solemn platform in which the only movement comes from the sea creating the feeling that time has no hold on these structures.