Cities of Silence, Extraordinary Views of a Shutdown World

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The London Eye at a standstill, against a brilliant blue sky. Venetian gondolas, resting beneath their tarpaulins. The Trevi Fountain in Rome, Schloss Sanssouci in Potsdam, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York-all deserted. In the middle of the day.

The widespread Covid-19 lockdown of Spring and Summer 2020 that had millions of people confined to their homes made for remarkable photographs around the globe. Silent Cities brings together lockdown pictures from more than 60 cities-all exceptional snapshots of otherwise densely crowded spaces. Free of people, traffic, and much of the habitual advertising we are used to, the aesthetic qualities of each place become more visible: the symmetry of a square or boulevard, the harmony of a facade, the beauty of an empty beach. A document of an extraordinary and challenging period, Silent Cities also offers us the visual space to imagine a better future.

Photographers fortunate enough to move freely around interesting places during the COVID-19 emergency had previously unimaginable opportunities to gather unique impressions. The photographer's dream of exclusivity came true in two senses of the word. He/she was able to take truly unique pictures: the cities as shown in this book have never looked this way before, and they might not look like this again. Furthermore, the absence of human trappings permits a new perspective on public squares and buildings. The photographs assembled in this volume, from both professional and amateur photographers, reveal a true courage to look at the gaps, the empty spaces.

Whether our cities were actually silent during the pandemic or just loud in a different way, looking at the mostly deserted streets is undeniably calming. This compilation of pictures from the crisis is a reminder of a special phase of human history, tied to the hope that, regardless of the beauty of the images, the current depressing Is will soon become a freeing Was. This volume inspires us to question things we have always taken for granted.
menej