In pictures: The ruins of Detroit
- Published
The Ruins of Detroit was a five-year collaboration between French photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, who together documented the decaying public buildings of the city at the heart of the US motor industry that once stood proudly - but then became victims of the global recession.
Detroit was at one time the car production centre of the world and many of its architectural gems, such as the ballroom at the Lee Plaza Hotel, reflected the town's prosperity.
Today many of these spaces are empty, rotting away, and Marchand and Meffre's formally composed pictures capture this decay.
Detroit has been particularly badly hit by the downturn, and is a city struggling with unemployment, poverty, debt and crime.
Working on a large format camera and using natural light, the photographs show the dereliction in detail.
The pictures are on show for the first time in the UK at Wilmotte Gallery, Lichfield Studios, London from 24 February to 5 April.