Transformations of Abandoned Spaces was written for Blot, an artist-run journal in Aotearoa New Zealand dedicated to embodied knowledge and experimental cultural practice. The article reflects on the afterlives of neglected and overlooked environments. It explores how abandoned buildings, empty lots, and derelict infrastructure shift from sites of decay and disuse to spaces shaped by creativity, memory, and transformation. Through a combination of cultural observation and visual research, it considers the ways artists, communities, and urban forces interact with these spaces–sometimes preserving them, sometimes reinventing them, and often negotiating their layered histories.
The article highlights several creative projects that engage directly with abandoned spaces through sound and composition. This includes the convolution reverbs created from impulse response recordings made in these neglected environments, collaborative recording projects with artists J Clancy and Mark Ballyk, and a composition developed with Leia Slosberg. It also touches on more recent explorations involving the clarinet, all of which use sound as a means to uncover and transform the acoustic and emotional qualities of forgotten places.
This piece invites readers to reconsider what is often dismissed or ignored, offering a perspective on how forgotten places can be reimagined not as endings, but as spaces of potential.
