The New York Times unveils a magnificent photo series of the empty cities due to covid-19

3/28/2020

Striking shots that illustrate the emptiness. “The void proliferates like the virus.” It was on this basis that the photography department of the New York Times had the idea of producing a photo series illustrating confinement across the globe.

The New York Times unveils a magnificent photo series of the empty cities due to covid-19

“The void proliferates like the virus.” It was on this basis that the photography department of the New York Times had the idea of producing a photo series illustrating confinement across the globe. More and more countries are in fact forced to adopt more or less harsh exit restrictions in order to fight the coronavirus pandemic. If countries like Italy have adopted rules of total containment, other nations have so far "simply" closed a multitude of places of life. Across the globe, scenes with an unreal atmosphere are unfolding, as public places are deserted by people.

This is the whole point of this photo series, which takes us from Paris to New York, via Munich, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Beijing, Milan or New Delhi. We contemplate the vacuum created by confinement, in places that are usually crowded. A good way to illustrate the radical change in our habits in these times of global health crisis. From tourist spots to typical small restaurants, it is the absence of life that shocks in these shots, each more evocative than the other.

It is still the New York Times which best presents its project: “This current vacuum is a health necessity. It can make you think of a dystopia, not of progress. But in the end, it also confirms that by listening to the experts and staying with us, we have not lost our ability to unite for the collective good. (…) These images are haunted and will haunt you, they seem to have come out of apocalyptic films, but in a way, they also deliver a message of hope. ” The New York Times photographers The Great Empty photo series can be seen above.