Book Wastelands

Hardcover – 256 pages
Publisher: Editions Alternatives (Gallimard Group)
Language: French
Size: 28cm x 22cm
ISBN: 978-2072777035

Released in October 2018.

Preface by Nicolas Laugero Lasserre
Director of Icart
Président of Artistik Rezo
Founder of Art42

A word from the publisher:

This book presents the work in abandoned places of 26 artists from the current street art and graffiti scene, classified from A to Z, and the special relationship they have with these places.

“Wastelands invites the reader to travel to the unknown territories of free art! Jonk’s superb photographs pay a vibrant tribute to these astonishing works, realistic or abstract, where nature and the wear of time always have their say. “

Through the works of Alëxone, Beerens, Caligr, Djalouz, Ecloz, Fabien Del aka La rouille, Gonzalo Borondo, Hopare, Itvan Kebadian, Jace, Katre, Logick, Mouarf, Nineta, Opéra, Plotbot Ken, Qbrick, Roa, Ale Senso, Miles Toland, Uber, Vegan Flava, WAR !, Xkuz, YZ and Zoo Project, around ten nationalities are represented with photos shot in 26 countries.

A word from the author:

It was in 2004, in Barcelona, that I had my first real contact with graffiti. I was nineteen. For two months, I roamed the city into every corner and came back with thousands of urban art photos. Discovering this culture was a turning point in my life, and this passion has never left me since. Great traveler, I shoot street art and graffiti everywhere I go. With the idea of getting unusual photos, a few years later I began to venture into abandoned places, where artists often go to paint in search of solitude and tranquility and take all their time to paint larger and nicer works. After spending some time with these artists, I myself began to paint under the name “Jonk”.

Now, five years later, it was time for me to pay tribute to the artists whose work I have come across. Some have become partners, even friends, and after two books focusing on my work and my photos, it is a pleasure for me to highlight theirs.

Extract from the book:

PRESS REVIEW

“Layers of dust, crumbling stairs, crumbling walls and overgrown vines. It is the allure of abandoned buildings that can offer street artists endless possibilities for experimentation. This is demonstrated by Wastelands, a photographic project by French artist Jonk that now becomes a book.” La Lettura / Corriere della Sera (translated from Italian)

“Prolific photographer Jonk releases a third book featuring a new series that is both raw and subtly poetic.” Fubiz (translated from French)

“Grand Cru. Urbex meets street art. In an attractive Italian-style format, this abecedarium lists twenty-six contemporary painters who are adept at using abandoned wastelands. In wild settings, a fine collection of hidden works.” Télérama (translated from French)

“A magnificent, eye-popping book”. Miss Acacia (translated from French)

“Jonk’s superb photographs from 26 countries are a vibrant tribute to these astonishing works, whether realistic or abstract, where nature and the passage of time always have their say.” Sabine Bledniak, Director, Editions Alternatives (translated from French)

“Jonk is a fascinating character!” Nicolas Laugero Lasserre, Director of Icart (School of cultural and art market management) (translated from French)

“Driven by his passion, Jonk doesn’t hold back.” Stuart, Urban Art Magazine (translated from French)

“This is another project by photographer and avid traveler Jonathan Jimenez (aka Jonk). At the beginning of his journey, he took photos of places that were abandoned and forgotten by man, but which Mother Nature remembered. Now he shows places that man would seem not to remember, but that’s not quite so… After all, these graffiti were made by someone. And rightly so! Check out Jonk’s unique photos!” Kultura.pl (translated from Polish)

“Wastelands, the book that magnifies urbex, photography and graffiti. A beautiful moment of escape, to be discovered!” Streep (translated from French)

“Jonk has traveled through different countries in Europe visiting abandoned places that have been resurrected from oblivion thanks to the work of 26 graffiti artists. The result is an exceptional project that translates into a new book called Wastelands.” 20 minutes (translated from Spanish)

“Wastelands draws the link between urban explorers on one side and street artists on the other. The works highlighted in this work are deserved, they are hidden out of sight in abandoned areas.” Beware

“Jonk, one of these timeless site hunters, delivers a selection of his most beautiful trips and encounters in terra incognita: frescoes which dialogue with architecture and history. His choice is presented in an abundantly illustrated alphabet book of international graffiti and street artists from Frenchman Alëxone Dizac to Zoo Project.” Le Monde (translated from French)

“Although it constitutes one of the most fertile fields of graffiti, urbex, deployed in wastelands and abandoned places, remains poorly documented. Jonk sets out to present the phenomenon in a richly illustrated “coffee table book”. The work is a continuation of the beautiful street art books.” L’Oeil / Le Journal des Arts

“The editor’s choice! This book has two great qualities: the first is to have succeeded in showing the almost carnal link between the wastelands and graffiti; the second in the intelligent approach of Jonk, photographer and Urbex enthusiast. Around twenty artists from diverse backgrounds talk about their work in wastelands and the special relationship they have with these abandoned places. The images are of high quality and allow the reader to better understand the words of those who use these places for artistic purposes. A work to read and recommend for those who would like to go further in understanding a practice, Urbex, and an artistic discipline, graffiti (or street art)…” Paris Tonkar

“Twenty-six artists, a photographer: in Wastelands, wastelands and graffiti are discovered under Jonk’s lens. From A to Z, from Germany to Romania, an explosion of colors proof of no man’s land, between nature and the wear and tear of architecture. More than a panorama of powerful works and hidden sites, Wastelands is an exploration of the relationship that artists maintain, each in their own way, with the wasteland.” Architectures à vivre (translated from French)

READERS’ OPINION

“For those who love street art, a superb work” Chantal, Amazon (translated from French)