Battleship Island

In July 2015, Makiko was granted rare permission to photograph the restricted zone of Battleship Island, shortly after it was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Ringed by a seawall, and covered in tightly packed buildings, the tiny fortress-like island was once the most densely populated place on Earth. Now it is a ghost town - completely uninhabited for more than forty years. In the book, archive photographs break the eerie silence of the island's contemporary landscape and, through the memories of a former resident of the island, Makiko brings it back to life.