This abandoned town in Namibia has been filling with sand for 50 years
From the outside, the buildings actually look rather unremarkable," McEvoy tells Tech Insider in an email. "They blend into the bleak and barren landscape.
But she explains that once you get inside the homes, the walls are vibrant and colorful.
"The wallpaper is different in each room and the contrast of these incredibly colorful, old, peeling wallpapers and the sand is so surreal," she says.
McEvoy was worried there would be footprints in the sand from other visitors, but a wind storm a few days before her visit left it looking untouched.
Tourists and photographers who wish to visit the town must obtain permits beforehand.
Even then, the town is only open for a few hours a day to tourists, but photographers wishing to visit after hours can do so with the proper permit.
McEvoy tells TI that when she tried to get a permit, the office was closed. She had to find another way in.
"[I] had to sneak in to capture the images in the beautiful golden light at dawn and dusk all on my own," she tells TI.
!["[I] had to sneak in to capture the images in the beautiful golden light at dawn and dusk all on my own," she tells TI.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-52663717,width-700,height-525,imgsize-251217/i-had-to-sneak-in-to-capture-the-images-in-the-beautiful-golden-light-at-dawn-and-dusk-all-on-my-own-she-tells-ti-.jpg)
Her favorite image is of the blue room.
But she says her favorite moment was "the feeling of having the entire town to myself." McEvoy danced around the rooms in a white lace dress to create self-portraits, like this one.
The worn homes are located in what was once a diamond mining town started by Germans in the early 1900s, so the architecture resembles that of Europe.
It's hard to believe people once lived in these homes.
McEvoy tells TI that she was unsure whether she was going to turn the photos into a series, until she arrived in Kolmanskop.
"As soon as I stepped foot in there, I was so overcome with emotion, I knew I had to do something more with it," she says.
McEvoy first learned about the abandoned mining town in an online article over five years ago, she tells TI.
After that, she added the location to her travel bucket list.
McEvoy found an abandoned home back in Australia to house her photography exhibit about Kolmanskop.
She even filled the home with 9 tons of sand to fit with the theme of her exhibit.
"Having a pop-up exhibition in a house due to be demolished tied in really well with my whole concept around the impermanence of everything," she tells TI.
The homes in Kolmanskop are being reclaimed by the earth as the sand moves in. Though the footsteps of visitors may vanish, the beauty of Kolmanskop will long be remembered through McEvoy's photos.
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