honorable mention
oded wagenstein
title
The void we leave
A chance encounter in the year of 2014, led me to meet the members of an aging community, living in a crumbly apartment complex in the town of Cienfuegos, in central Cuba. Although approximately sixty years of age separate us, we had a bond, and I returned to visit them few times per year since. I helped carry groceries; we saw Telenovelas together, and mainly, despite a language barrier, we talked. We talked about our mutual fears, as Delphin (seen in picture 3) once told me: "There is no more time for dreams to fulfill, places to visit, soon I will leave. Leaving behind only the void between the walls."
As time passed, I returned to find apartments that turned empty. The person has left this world, leaving behind few personal objects and the walls. Those walls witness an entire life: relationships, family and birthdays. Joy and sadness. Now, they have remained in their solitariness, with a void between them.
Soon, the government will lodge a new tenant in the empty apartments. Personal objects will be replaced, and the walls will be painted in new colors as new life will begin. However, eventually, over time, they too will become another layer of peeling paint on the wall.
Most of the people in this project are no longer alive. Today I understand the urge I had to take their portrait. I was hoping that the camera, with its remarkable ability to freeze time, can help me to remember them. Until I too, will become a layer of peeling paint.
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entry description
"The void we leave" is an ongoing personal project, in which I was trying to use the photographic medium to confront my greatest fear - fear of the passing time. Fear of me passing away too.A chance encounter in the year of 2014, led me to meet the members of an aging community, living in a crumbly apartment complex in the town of Cienfuegos, in central Cuba. Although approximately sixty years of age separate us, we had a bond, and I returned to visit them few times per year since. I helped carry groceries; we saw Telenovelas together, and mainly, despite a language barrier, we talked. We talked about our mutual fears, as Delphin (seen in picture 3) once told me: "There is no more time for dreams to fulfill, places to visit, soon I will leave. Leaving behind only the void between the walls."
As time passed, I returned to find apartments that turned empty. The person has left this world, leaving behind few personal objects and the walls. Those walls witness an entire life: relationships, family and birthdays. Joy and sadness. Now, they have remained in their solitariness, with a void between them.
Soon, the government will lodge a new tenant in the empty apartments. Personal objects will be replaced, and the walls will be painted in new colors as new life will begin. However, eventually, over time, they too will become another layer of peeling paint on the wall.
Most of the people in this project are no longer alive. Today I understand the urge I had to take their portrait. I was hoping that the camera, with its remarkable ability to freeze time, can help me to remember them. Until I too, will become a layer of peeling paint.
back to gallery