Most junkyards are located in rural areas. For us city dwellers, the memory of a first visit is impactful, as we seldom come across such a huge amount of twisted, mistreated vehicles.

Jesse Kassel is an artist from Detroit, USA, and Bandos and Stolos is his new exhibition at the Inner State Gallery. At first glance, the paintings attract the audience with their bright colours. With a closer look, though, one realises the subject of these paintings are piles of abandoned and stolen cars in the junkyard. Acyclic and collaged shapes form these paintings, while Kassel cited the glorious heyday of car manufacturing industry in Detroit as the inspiration behind the project. He also mentioned in an interview that one building was full of prized, classic but abandoned cars. These first person views allow him to fully appreciate the sense of beauty and story behind how such places have become what they are.

“My goal is to create a sense of movement that is not going anywhere, as these cars and buildings have been sitting in the same place for months, or years, but they are constantly being altered by nature and humans,” said Kassel.