Ozymandias in Ruins is a personal project to record the ruins of history in black and white photography.
For as long as I can remember the remnants of the past have fascinated me. As life has gone by I have learned to appreciate the paradox of life represented by these remnants of the past. On the one hand they are reminders of the accomplishments of our predecessors and on the other they are a reminder that all things come to an end.
For me, the paradox is perfectly captured in Shelley’s poem:
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Percy Shelley (1818)
The project also owes itself to the inspiration of Dave Hamilton’s book “Wild Ruins.”
Whilst I’m building this website for personal pleasure I hope you enjoy my attempts to capture some drama in the relics of days gone by.
Ozymandias in Ruins 