LA-BS-S02E-32
If the now-famous photograph of the Pruitt-Igoe demolition was proposed by Charles Jencks as the retroactive death knell of modern architecture, then Schalkwijk’s images offer a more melancholic reflection on the failure of Latin American modernity—a blend of hope and ambition built on precarious ground, in this case, the soft, muddy soils of the Valley of Mexico.
From these images, we reached out to the photographer and discovered not only a remarkable body of work, but also a passionate, energetic, and deeply humane individual. Born in Rotterdam in 1933, Bob Schalkwijk remains active today, tirelessly caring for an archive of more than 500,000 photographs, most of them taken in Mexico.
In dialogue with photographic historian Gina Rodríguez, who has worked for over a decade studying Schalkwijk’s archive, and with the photographer himself, we decided to present at LIGA more than just his Collapsed Architectureseries. We also included images from Mexico Under Construction and Vernacular Mexico to offer a broader view of the depth and scope of his photographic legacy.
Series 01 – Mexico Under Construction
