The ancient city of Palmyra was once an enormously wealthy city along the silk road, similar to what Dubai or Qatar is today. But humanity sadly never learned from millenia of greed and pride, evident in Eric Ericson’s photo exhibition Palmyra.

In the early spring of 1751, a caravan rides through the Syrian desert. Over 100 men with horses, camels, donkeys and mules — led by bedouins. The expedition is conducted by two brits, Robert Wood and James Dawkins. They are on their way through the desert, to a mythical place — a mirage oasis. During their journey they listen to the tales of the local population, such as that the city they are searching for was founded by king Solomon, and that the battle between David and Goliath took place here.

After several days of walking they finally arrive — captivated by what they see — ruins of a civilization long forgotten in the West. In the West the city is called Palmyra, by the Arabs Tadmor. Everywhere they look they see columns, altars, and stone fragments of once grand buildings and temples. The ground is covered by objects, reliefs, friezes, and parts of statues. They immediately understand that they have reached a place of inestimable value, comparable to Leptis Magna in Libya, the Pyramids of Giza, and Persepolis in Iran.

Back in Europe, Wood and Dawkins published a travelogue — The Ruins of Palmyra — with illustrations by the Italian artist and architect Giovanni Battista Borra, who accompanied the expedition. The book becomes a success, much thanks to Battitas Borra’s illustrations, which immediately transform Palmyra into a cult centre for antique lovers and ruin romantics. The mysterious ruins inspire many of the architects and artists of the time.

The illustrations by Battita Borra are characterised by their scientific precision. He depicts the meticulously detalied columns — but also the city as a whole. At the same time, there is something unambiguously artistic about them — a desolate beauty that evokes two conflicting emotions within the viewer. On the one hand, a wonder and amazement about the civilization that once was here — fantasies about how life once must have been in Palmyra. On the other hand, the rapture over the beauty of decay — the ravages of time and its weathering quality.

Eric Ericson’s photo exhibition of the ruins of Palmyra evokes the same feelings. 150 years after Battista Borra, the photographer, writer and designer Eric Ericson travelled to Palmyra. He would return 13 times to finish the project that resulted in the photobook Palmyra in 2009. It is a unique documentation of one of the world’s best preserved ancient cities.

Same as through the pen of Giovanni Borra, Palmyra becomes something greater than mere ruins through Ericson’s camera lens — behind the stripped-down, seemingly neutral look, the soul appears. He captures the skeleton left behind by civilization — which undeniably raises further questions. It’s a place that whispers — you will one day become what we are.

Palmyra becomes something greater than mere ruins through Ericson’s camera lens — behind the stripped-down, seemingly neutral look, the soul appears.

Eric Ericson  didn’t know how unique his work would become. Just two years after his book had been published the Arab Spring set the region on fire and quickly spread to Syria. The regime’s violent response towards the peaceful protests threw the country into a civil war. The big tragedy of the Arab Spring was how protests towards corruption, stagnated economies and authoritarian regimes, got kidnapped by islamists and jihadists. Many different groups and networks arose from the chaos, but the Islamic State became the most destructive and successful.

In May 2015, the Islamic State conquered Palmyra — which would become the start of a wave of destruction and looting of the world heritage.

Whats make, or rather made Palmyra so unique was not only how well preserved the city was — but it also symbolised the meeting between East and West. Already during the Stone Age, people settled in the oasis, but it was when Palmyra became the junction point along the Silk Road that the city experienced its period of greatness for centuries. Through Palmyra flowed silk, gemstones, spices, slaves, wine, and glass — a trade which made the city enormously wealthy. Palmyra became a desert metropolis, similar to what Dubai or Qatar is today, with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants and architectural masterpieces in the form of temples, theatres, squares, and paved streets that were lit up by oil lamps at night. At the intersection between cultures, Palmyra had developed a distinct art style — with influences from both East and West.

The fall of Palmyra is as grand as it is mythical — linked to one of the most fascinating women of antiquity. Warrior and Queen Zenobia challenged the powerful Rome but lost. In the aftermath of the revolt, the Romans sacked and burned Palmyra down.

Nearly 2000 years later, the Islamic State declared war towards the ruins of Palmyra. The terrorist group executes the archaeologist Khaled al-Asaad, who for decades had been the protector of the cultural heritage. Invaluable statues and monumental tombs at the museum got destroyed. The greatest and most beautiful temples are attacked and blown up, as well as the famous Arch of Triumph. The orgy of destruction is captured on high-definition film by the terrorist group — and shown to the world. The attack is a modern form of iconoclasm, a ritualistic process of destruction.

The Islamic State is a utopian movement, in order to build the future, the dream of a worldwide caliphate, the old world needs to be destroyed and cleansed of its false gods. But the attack is also aimed towards us all — a stab at Palmyra as wearer of multiculturalism and coexistence. In a couple of months, big parts of the world heritage are destroyed. Despite the fact that the Syrian regime has promised to rebuild the ruin city, most serious experts believe that it is impossible.

What makes, or rather made Palmyra so unique was not only how well preserved the city was — but it also symbolised the meeting between East and West.

In the wake of the devastation, Eric Ericson’s photos of Palmyra remain as a unique piece of documentation. Looking at Eric Ericson’s varied career — from design and literature to games and magazines — his interest in Palmyra seems something of a diversion. He has published a long series of notable books, including the humoristic Brev till samhället as well as the masterpiece Swedish Grace and Mannen från Damaskus — about the life of Nazi Alois Brunner’s life in Syria. But if you look more closely at the production, there is often a clear homage to classicism — not at least in his attention to the pionering Swedish neoclassicism and designers and architects such as Axel Einar Hjort. Just like this, Ericson has renewed and modernised the classic ideals — which not at least is visible in his own designs for Svenskt Tenn. But there has also been a strong interest in the Middle East — its culture, form and history. With this background, the fascination with Palmyra comes naturally, a place that symbolises the eclectic meeting of East and West. That Eric Ericson in his photos saved a part of this history for posterity is perhaps his most important work.