Held by Dust and Distance
Held by Dust and Distance (ongoing)
I may have been drawn to making the overlooked the main subject of my photography for quite some time, but nothing captures the imagination quite like the abandoned. These objects were once intentionally built, bought, used, and relied upon. They were part of someone’s livelihood, or even the backbone of a purpose. Now, they exist in a state of transition, slowly exposed, eroded, and reclaimed by nature.
Decaying objects can also be symbols of the collapse of our own illusion of permanence. We often build things to last, thinking that time is always on our side. Yet, these objects show us that our control over the world is merely temporary. Then, a post-human aesthetic also emerges in this moment of transition. These objects are now liberated, freed from the burden of being useful. They cease to be tools and begin to exist as accidental sculptures, or a new landscape as they interact with their surroundings.
This series also acts as a mirror of the self, as the abandoned things around us sometimes trigger our own fear of obsolescence and abandonment. But just like those objects, why shouldn’t we view our own presence and legacies as monuments? With all its merits as well as its insignificance, held in place by nothing more than the dust of the past and the distance of time.
Other Projects
No One’s City
Interim
Urban Coexistence