Eve Morgenstern / Facades of Crises

Over the past three years photographer and filmmaker Eve Morgenstern has been working for the American government to document the consequences of the housing crises.

Eve Morgenstern has travelled across the USA and has been struck by the massive inventory of abandoned homes generated by years of economic decline and by the foreclosure crises. In cities as Oakland, Phoenix, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Miami, Las Vegas and Denver, plywood over windows and for sale signs become instant catalysts for decline.

In her series, Facades of Crises Eve Morgenstern has portrayed these abandoned homes. Her colour photographs are intriguing portraits of individual homes. They are also strong testimonies of today's financial crisis. The homes elicit feelings of fear and despair that ultimately affect the future of the neighbourhood and the impetus to live and invest there. With sad details of abandonment and neglect, the facades tell us a story. They also conjure up tragic stories of residents who lived there and what may have happened to them.

Produced while in residence with Workspace, a residency program of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.