Allee photographed the complex for more than year. He said that while his pictures could not convey the smell of the factory—“crème brûlée mixed with mold and rot”—he hoped to communicate something about its complicated history.
More ruin porn that I happen to enjoy. As with Ellis Island, I think I like that this project is focused on a specific building with a specific function. Rather than being just “this is old and looks cool,” these photos are trying to investigate and demonstrate how this space has been used over the years.
Also, at an even more basic level, I look at these and find myself thinking about sugar and where it comes from and realizing that, for such an important commodity* I’ve taken it for granted. Heck, it was only after moving to the East Coast and switching from C&H to Domino that I even realized sugar had brands.
*Seriously, think about sugar’s place in US history and US foreign policy, especially in the Caribbean and Hawai‘i.