Over the past year, I’ve found myself drawn once again to the edges of human influence—those quiet, overlooked spaces where nature begins to reclaim the land.
'Rewilding the Land' is my latest painting project, a natural progression from an earlier series 'Sanctuary', which explored abandoned allotment sites celebrating the bittersweet beauty of decay.
'Afterlife' Oils On Canvas 2025 © Chris Cyprus
This body of work is about more than just capturing forgotten places—it’s about our relationship with the land, and the spaces we attempt to control but inevitably surrender to time and nature. Abandoned factories, villages, graveyards —these are the places where stories hide in plain sight. They hold the fingerprints of lives once lived.
There’s a strange peace to be found in these scenes. Among the tangle of brambles and wildflowers, you can sense a return to something more truthful, more ancient. Nature doesn’t ask for permission—it simply takes back what was always hers.
My fascination with this subject began back in 2008 when I took on my own council allotment. I admired the “make do and mend” ethos, the sense of community and quiet resilience among fellow growers. Over the years, I painted many of these characters and their spaces. That work eventually evolved into the 'Sanctuary' series but the story didn’t end there...
'Rewilding the Land' is part painting series, part personal research project. I’m deeply interested in how we as humans attempt to shape our surroundings and how it shapes us in return.
With my son by my side, camera in hand, we enjoy visiting forgotten corners of the UK and beyond—abandoned textile mills, overgrown greenhouses, more recently a crumbling coastal military barracks in Pula Croatia. Working from photographs and sketches we wonder: Who lived here? Who built these places? What remains of their presence?
Light transforms the crumbling and the discarded into something luminous and full of feeling. One of my recent paintings, Dyehouse, captures this perfectly—a derelict relic, sunlight slicing through shattered windows, wild plants breaking through the floor.
There’s beauty in these so-called ruins, and poetry in nature’s triumph. It is a striking reminder that inevitably, it doesn't take long for nature to take back control.
Dyehouse, Oils On Canvas 2025 © Chris Cyprus
I hope to uncover more of these stories hidden in plain sight—where the land is rewilding itself, and reminding us that nothing truly belongs to us forever.
You can follow the development of 'rewilding the land' via my instagram account @chriscyprus, I would also love to hear personal stories of your favourite abandonded and wild spaces where nature is taking over. Thanks for reading!
