Rebirth of the Abandoned

The series of four images was created in an abandoned church in Havana, Cuba, featuring the model Katarin, a student at the University of Havana and Martial arts athlete. The goal was to convey — through the contrast of strong, youthful beauty and a structure crumbling and surrendering to time — a sense of rebirth and celebration of life…and that the light has not been completely vanquished from this once-revered place. The logistics of the shoot were challenging. Our small team climbed fences, descended steep walls and carefully navigated all manner of debris in the structure. During the shoot we were in the company of hundreds of bats who had taken up residence in the building. Model: Katarin/Producer: Lis Nuñez