Some people like to spend a sunny day leisurely walking through the park or on the beach. Others like to risk their safety on a stroll through crumbling deserted buildings.
Tracy Levesque is one of the latter, taking viewers on a trip through the hidden beauty of Philadelphia’s urban decay in “What Remains,” an exhibition of her photography and the visual art of Drew Leshko, through July 19 at Paradigm Gallery.
The local out photographer captured images of abandoned Philadelphia buildings and their architecture, many of which no longer exist, for her contribution to the exhibition.
“I’ve been doing this for long enough that some of these buildings have either been torn down or caught fire and then had to be demolished to make way for something else,” she said about her work. “I’m motivated by an emotional attachment to buildings in a ‘stray dog at the pound’ kind of way. I really do love Philadelphia. I move here in 1988 and I’ve always loved Philadelphia buildings in all kinds of states — from abandoned to beautiful renovations. I really just want to — before they are gone or while they are still around — show people how beautiful they are. That’s my motivation for doing this. There is decay but there are also great buildings. Philadelphia has this problem of not being able to keep nice things. We let things rot to death or feel that we can’t afford to renovate buildings and we just demolish them. The truth is, it costs less to renovate than to tear it down and build something new. I want people to see what I see in these buildings.”
One of the benefits of seeing the exhibition, other than the fact that they get a rare glimpse into many buildings that no longer are around, is that people can experience the vicarious thrill of getting an insider’s look at the buildings without sticking their proverbial necks out.
The streets of Philadelphia can be dicey, even in the most well-kept of neighborhoods. So, one can imagine that traipsing forgotten buildings to capture photographs in less-traveled areas of town can be a tad perilous for a number of reasons.
“There’s always a risk. It depends on the site,” Levesque said. “Number one, it’s an illegal activity. There are a lot of urban explorers; I feel that it’s about a lot of conquering and a lot of ego. Then there are a lot of selfies and ‘Look at this site!’ For me, it is not like that at all. I take my entire self out of the whole thing. I don’t reveal my identity on Instagram and I never say the name of the site unless it’s completely gone. I never show my face. So I really try to not do anything that links me to a site. It’s not like ‘look at the illegal thing I did.’ I just want to take pictures. And then a lot of these site are dangerous. Some buildings are made of concrete and are pretty sturdy and you don’t have to worry about the floor falling. Some buildings are made of wood and everything is just crumbling. The floors can be like twigs and not sturdy at all. It’s a dangerous activity but I enjoy it.”
Levesque added that, with an activity like this, there is safety in number — and a little secrecy.
“I’m part of a queer urban exploration group,” she said. “It’s a hidden secret. I wouldn’t want to put a link to it online but we’re easy to find — it’s not difficult.”
“What Remains” in on view through July 19 at Paradigm Gallery and Studio, 746 S. Fourth St. For more information, visit www.paradigmarts.org.