Absence

"When I'm not here, does the world still exist?"

How much does human absence or presence alter a space? Do objects truly retain something of us once we leave them behind? These questions—almost metaphysical, with impossible answers—form the core of Absence.

Created within a brief span of hours immediately following the final shift of a train maintenance facility, this series documents a space on the brink of abandonment, just before its relocation after decades of continuous operation. Wandering through the quieted workshops, the medium format 6x6 camera captures a landscape caught between active memory and total quietude.

Hand-printed on analogue silver gelatin paper, each image explores the concept of the "present-absent." Hanging aprons, dust-covered gauges, worn tools, and still workbenches are treated not merely as industrial remnants, but as intimate marks left behind by human hands. Reading these spaces through the lens of memory, Absence invites the viewer to reflect on whether objects preserve our mark—and how empty spaces continue to echo with the lives once lived within them.

First exhibited at the Contrast Photography Festival in Thessaloniki (2010).