Decay Collection (#39)

A man walks along the a street in downtown Antigua beside the brightly painted houses

Bathed in early morning sunlight with a full moon still evident in the sky, the ruins of the Lion Temple, dedicated to the Lion God Apademak

The ruins of a Kiosk beside one of the four temples situated beside an important wadi at Naga some 30 km from the Nile. Discovered in 1821, the temples have been dated between 1BC and 1AD

A scene in the deserted diamond-mining town of Kolmanskop, which was abandoned more than fifty years ago. The place is now a ghost town where sand from the surrounding desert has encroached into all

Two Drawings of the Bony Structure of the Head, c1480 (1945). Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Two Drawings of the Bony Structure of the Head, c1480 (1945). From The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci. [Reynal & Hitchcock, New York, 1945]

Red vintage bike against a green flaking plaster wall
Cycle still life featuring strong color contrasts

Facade of an old brick industry building with broken windows
Blue sky with clouds and an old billboard visible overhead, above the art deco architecture style exterior

android, broken, camouflage, color image, concept, copy space, cyborg, day, decay
Green loss on obsolete robot in woods

Parthenon frieze, effects of a century of decay
The Parthenon frieze: effects of a century of decay. Plaster casts of parts of the frieze left in place on the temple made for Lord Elgin in 1801 compared with how it was in 1929 after a century of

All Gone. Middlesbrough 1970s 1970s

Finding bodies Saints Peter Paul ca 1647-51
Artokoloro

Title page Causes Decay Christian Piety 1667
Artokoloro

Zion National Park, Utah. USA. Leaf of Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremonti) on flood plain of Virgin River in autumn. Zion Canyon

Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) and vultures (Gyps africanus) scavenging on a carcass in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Interior of a colonial house, old diamond ghost town, Kolmanskop (Colemans Hill), near Luderitz, Namibia, Africa

Bathtub standing in the desert, old diamond ghost town, Kolmanskop (Colemans Hill), near Luderitz, Namibia, Africa

Sand in an old colonial house, old diamond ghost town, Kolmanskop (Colemans Hill), near Luderitz, Namibia, Africa

Colonial house, old diamond ghost town, Kolmanskop (Colemans Hill), near Luderitz, Namibia, Africa

Window of an old colonial house, old diamond ghost town, Kolmanskop (Colemans Hill), near Luderitz, Namibia, Africa

Railway tracks overflown by sand, old diamond ghost town, Kolmanskop, near Luderitz, Namibia, Africa

Deadvlei, an old dry lake in the Namib desert, Namibia, Africa

Pink sky at dawn on the Palafito Pier in the Carrasqueira Natural Reserve of Sado River, Alcacer do Sal, Setubal, Portugal, Europe

Lone tree trunk over Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U. S. A. part of the Cascade Range
Lone tree trunk over Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S.A. part of the Cascade Range, Oregon, United States of America, North America

Illustration of Garden Snail (helix aspera), on decaying leaf

Illustration of white eggs of Garden Snail (Helix aspersa) in shallow hole under decaying leaves

Illustration of digging hole in grass near base of rotten fence post using spade

Digital Illustration showing areas of rot in joists, wooden post, and steps of neglected decking

Illustration of carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle

Illustration of log one year from falling with moss, lichen, fungi and plants and frog, larvae and insects thriving on decay

The ruins of Whitby Abbey, Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
The ruins of Whitby Abbey that inspired Bram Stoker to his masterpiece Dracula, Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Headland at La Push Beach in the the Pacific Northwest, Washington State, United States of America, North America

Driftwood and sea stacks on Ruby Beach in the Olympic National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pacific Northwest coast, Washington State, United States of America, North America

James Island and driftwood on the beach at La Push on the Pacific Northwest, Washington State, United States of America, North America

Derelict Buildings
Bones of an old building standing on the shores of the Rio Uruguay in Colonia Del Sacramento, Uruguay

Old Low Rise Buildings in Venice, Italy
Low Angle View of Low Rise Residential Buildings in Historical Area of Venice, Italy on Overcast Day

Residential Buildings in Historical Area of Venice
Low Angle View of Low Rise Residential Buildings in Historical Area of Venice, Italy on Overcast Day

Outback ruins
Ruined farmhouse near Silverton, NSW, Australia

The old ruins of Anhalter Station, Berlin
Soccer field in front of the old ruins of the bombed station of Anhalter Bahnhof, in Berlin, Germany

Vintage car on the cobblestone lane of the historic quarter, Colonia del Sacramento, Colonia Department, Uruguay, South America

View of the train cemetery, Uyuni, Antonio Quijarro Province, Potosi Department, Bolivia, South America

Skeleton trees, Sossusvlei (Death Valley), Namibia, Africa

Buffalo skull, Okavango Delta, Botswana, Africa

Kawah Ijen, acid lake with sulfur coast, Java Island, Indonesia
June 17, 2008 - Kawah Ijen, acid lake with sulfur coast, Java Island, Indonesia

A team of androids break down objects to their scrap value
A team of robotic scrap merchants going about their business on a liquid world designed to break down unwanted objects to their scrap value

The destruction of fighter planes as the result of several wars
Since its invention, the aeroplane has captured the imagination of young and old alike. Its dark side is that its also been used as a weapon of destruction in several wars, creating many a blood bath

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"Decay: A Haunting Journey Through Time and Nature's Erosion" Step into the world of decay, where the echoes of time whisper through forgotten realms. From Hogarth's Gin Lane to the delicate dance between Blossom and Decay, this captivating concept reveals the fragility of existence. Like a Higgs boson in conceptual artwork, decay permeates every corner of our universe, and is as ancient as the Tablet of Shamash, dating back to the 9th century BC when even the sun-god witnessed its relentless grip on life. In Peter Greenaway's A Zed & Two Noughts (1985), decay becomes an artistic muse, transforming driftwood on La Push beach into melancholic poetry along Washington State's Pacific Northwest coast. Nature too succumbs to its inevitable fate; Coral Spot Fungus finds solace in Sycamore twigs amidst Powys' Welsh landscape. Palace ruins at Minoan archaeological sites stand testament to civilizations long lost but not forgotten. Even modern marvels bear witness to decay's touch; an aerial view captures both beauty and deterioration as it gazes upon Belvedere Hotel and Furka Pass road - immortalized by James Bond in Goldfinger - nestled within Switzerland's majestic Swiss Alps. Yet perhaps no image strikes closer than that polarised LM photograph revealing tooth decay. Within its microscopic realm lies a reminder that even our own bodies are subject to nature’s unyielding forces. And finally, an old abandoned shack by Mersey stands stoically against time itself. Its decaying walls tell stories untold, reminding us that all things must eventually return from whence they came. In these glimpses into worlds touched by decay – be it art or nature – we find both sorrow and wonder. For within each moment captured lies a profound lesson about impermanence and the cyclical nature of existence itself.