This series explores abandoned and repurposed buildings of civic value currently facing an uncertain fate. Preservation of these buildings is becoming less of a political priority and their fate is at the mercy of the sweeping trend of land development led largely by profit-driven private companies. These structures look forbidding from the outside, but stripped of their former adornments, function and dignity, they still bespeak impressive construction, design for efficiency and spectacular historical architecture. My images emphasize the disconnect between building interiors along with their remaining objects and fixtures and how we see similar objects functioning in daily life.
Structures such as Kodak Canada Building 9 in Toronto, Harvey Woods Factory in Woodstock, and the interior of Toronto’s Old City Hall are currently being repurposed. Not far away, the Packard Car Factory and Lee Plaza in Detroit are destined to disappear forever. These buildings, their history and esthetic ought to be taken into consideration when communities make choices about how their surrounding environment should look and function. Some can be incorporated into newly designed buildings, others brought back to life. I argue that these preservations enrich a city’s culture.
Originally from Moscow, Russia, Rimma Skeini has lived and worked in Toronto more than half of her life. A visual artist and musician, she uses a range of media to inform her work: photography, painting, installation and performance art and music. She trained in photography with Robert Barnett and worked at his B&W Custom Photo Lab in Toronto. In 2011, she was one of the artist participants in the Residue exhibit during the Scotiabank Nuit Blanche. She holds a BA in Music from the University of Toronto and is currently enrolled in the BFA program at OCADU, with a specialization in Photography and Painting.