Light Painting: The Renaissance of Brutalism by Xiao Yang

Photographs presenting abandoned sites, monuments, and forgotten structures, in a completely surreal light have left the audience speechless. Over the past few years, Chinese photographer Xiao Yang traveled to ex-Yugoslav, ex-Soviet, and Eastern European countries to capture colossal monuments in a futuristic style, creating the landscape photography series ‘Eternal Monuments in the Dark.’

The artist says: “I want to capture and re-create their eternal beauty. Creating surreality from reality is a fascinating game to play, and it always motivates me to keep going on the exploration. I’m fascinated by the man-made environment. There are some topics I’m especially into, like abandoned sites, brutalist architecture, mass concrete monuments, towers, bunkers, underground tunnels, and many other urban structures. Those places are empty and eerily quiet at night in darkness.“

Photographing the series for nine years, Xiao has captured structured designs in the Soviet-Modernist and Brutalist styles following World War II. Most monuments are shot at night by light painting photography to recreate new places and build a connection between us. “If I have to put into words what I wanted to tell through my photos, ‘The Romance of Eternity’ is my answer,” Xiao adds.