March 4, 2010

The Batcave

I recently came across photographer Nate Kensinger’s graffiti-porn shots of the Batcave, an abandoned power plant-turned-squatter den in the no-man’s-land of Gowanus. While Banksy has inadvertently become UK’s biggest celebrity artist this side of Damien Hirst, it’s good to some legit slum tags.

Or rather, it’s like a window into a fabled lost culture, a hippie-anarchist-crustpunk-fixster-junkie utopia that, like any Eden, was never meant to last. Not that I mythologize Brooklyn’s creative (transplant) subculture or anything—I just happen to envy respect authenticity…

Nothing quite compares to the easy poetry of decay and vaguely supernatural lighting.

Jake Dobkin of Gothamist / Streetsy also has a set of Batcave photos on Flickr. (Kensington has more photos in addition to the three posted above, as does Dobkin whose photos have unduly been deferred to after the jump).

Wide angle + reflections in pools of rainwater are also excellent ways to emphasizing space. Poetry for realz.

So yes, this is essentially a blatant reblog of Kensington and Dobkin’s work, but I think it’s worth sharing.

Fin.

See also: Inside & Outside Domino Sugar Refinery