This apartment building awaits demolition more than three months after an earthquake devastated Peru’s coastal city of Pisco on 15 August 2007.

Dust still hangs in the air, giving an eery glow to the streets as daylight fades, a legacy of more 100,000 buildings that were destroyed or seriously damaged in the two minutes when the earth literally shook.

Carlos, the taxi driver whose car can be seen in the base of this image went out of his way to show us this building. The house where he lived with his young son, a few miles from this spot, was one of the many that no longer stands.

The halo around the lamp is an effect of the dust in atmosphere (and not a digital manipulation as some might think). Its visibility is enhanced by the slow shutter speed necessary to capture such an image as the sun had long since disappeared below the horizon. The building is truly leaning, a result of the earthquake that destroyed so much of this city, including the lives of four individuals who were in the lower floor (now destroyed) of this apartment building when the earth started to shake.

All artists proceeds from sales of RedBubble prints from this image will be used to assist those, like Carlos, who have lost their homes to rebuild.

• This image was recently selected for exhibition in Melbourne’s Brunswick Street Gallery.
• It is also included in the America del Sur – 2009 Calendar, available here.