Architects and engineers ensure safe, strong construction of city buildings, but once humans are taken out of the equation, the structures will probably be quick to lose their form and function. Swedish artist Johanna Mårtensson was inspired by an article describing a similar line of events, considering the hypothetical situation of ceased human existence on Earth. Without humans, other life forms will take over the space and our built environment would no longer stand as we know it, meeting a fate of slow degeneration.
The artist's project "Decor" features a small city built of bread, photographed daily throughout 6 months of decomposition and accumulation of mold. Although her bread city and our concrete metropolises do not share a common building material, the metaphor highlights the possibility of the two urban models meeting a similar process of decay. The mold may be disturbing to look at, but it is up to our imaginations to render images of what else may be overwhelming our architectural environment in the future.
