Bio
Ken Robey
Born in LaPlata, MD, USA
Lives in Dayton, NJ, USA
Much of my photography reflects an interest in the interplay between order and chaos that emerges as nature goes through its process of deconstructing and reclaiming what humans have built. This juxtaposition of the straight lines and angles of the built environment and the jags and twists of nature’s intrusion is at its starkest in a long abandoned home in central New Jersey. Enveloped by vines, what I refer to as the "piano house" has a roof through which sunlight and moonlight travel freely and floors cluttered with what were once the ceiling and floor above. Most of its front wall no longer exists allowing anyone to see an object that, amidst the chaos, remains as a symbol of order, of rhythm, of fine and exacting human design, and of the life and warmth once contained within the structure. A baby grand piano with open lid sits in the center of the decaying structure as if waiting for a long-departed friend to return and bring its once rich sounds, and perhaps the home itself, back to life.
My interest in the past lives of places and things and the energy that remains in objects long discarded or in places no longer inhabited is also represented by my photos taken at Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania. The "Rust" series is another set of photos that reflects that interest.
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