Last fall, we came across this incredible image and queued it up to post. Then Sandy hit, and suddenly this image was both more and less relevant than ever. In the intervening months, as recovery turned to rebuilding along the Eastern Seaboard, we took a hiatus to make final preparations for our launch. This March, as winter transitions to spring, TYPOLOGY crosses one more line in its own journey toward existence, as The Line becomes our first post from our new website.
Mixed metaphors aside, the image speaks for itself. Details (with minor edits) from the artist Palíndromo Mészáros’ website below:
14th of October, 2010 at 12.25pm in Ajka, Veszprém county, Hungary: around a million cubic metres of toxic waste were released after the burst of the retaining wall in one of the reservoirs used for the accumulation of MAL aluminum company trash. The spilling reached two meters high and started a destructive race trying to release its energy, flooding Devecser and Kolontár villages. Ten human casualties were counted and the material damages were impossible to measure, including the destruction or irreparable deterioration of a big amount of houses, the disappearing of infrastructure and the poisoning of dozens of fields. The accident was considered the biggest catastrophe of Hungarian history.
This photo was taken six months after the accident when the silence takes the place of the headlines and just The Line is left.
See more on Palíndromo Mészáros’ website
A photobook is scheduled to be released on March 18th