Photography: Looking for nothing.
Inspiration can come from nothing at all.
Nothing, no-thing, or no thing (Latin: nihil), is the complete absence of anything as the opposite of something and an antithesis of everything. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing
For many, the urge to capture moments in photographs revolves around finding an object of interest. However, like some, I often seek out the absence of subjects; the untouched spaces that exist as potential canvases rather than occupied scenes. It’s the void in the everyday that intrigues; interpretation and suggestion of what could be, rather than what is.
I like to stumble on places that hover between states — neither fully occupied nor entirely vacant. These are spaces with possibility, where the imagination runs prompted by subtle cues of presence to come, or the whisper of previous activity. They pose questions that linger in the mind, questions that often defy easy answers and invite multiple interpretations.
But it’s not necessarily about decay, urban exploration or anything fantastic or extraordinary. Just everyday, overlooked and unnoticed. Spaces, objects and situations that promote three simple thoughts.
“What happened here?” In spaces that bear traces of something yet leave the narrative suspended; inviting speculation about the stories that unfolded and what maybe lingers.
“What is about to happen?” anticipates the future. It casts spaces as stages set for yet-to-be-written scenes and events. Anticipation and tension between the known and the unknown, now and next.
“What could happen?” stretches the imagination further, challenging to see more possibilities beyond the immediate. Walls, stairs and doors become potential futures, each one waiting to happen or not.
While form traditionally dominates the photographic frame — objects, structures, figures — the field, or the space around and between these forms, holds equal significance. It’s in the negative space, the emptiness that surrounds and defines, where the true essence of a photograph could be found.
By literally focusing on the spaces that hover between, I aim to find the unnoticed. It’s here, in ambiguity and places suggesting occupation, that I am looking for nothing.
