The Presence of Absence explores how spaces become haunted by people, events, and futures that are no longer visible but continue to leave traces. It doesn’t document a place, it documents an absence. The past is not gone. It continues to shape the present as a ghost. This is very different from nostalgia.
Nostalgia says:
I wish the past would come back.
Hauntology says:
The past never actually left.
We usually consider absence as a void; once something has vanished from sight, it no longer exists. This book argues against such an assumption. Places retain memory. Buildings keep remnants of those who’ve passed through their doors. Streets store habits, chats, and goodbyes. Photos capture time, but also indicate that time is gone.
The residues left by these intangible remainders will be examined in this book using photographs, illustrations and editorial design. The work does not record memories themselves, rather what remains after the memories fade.
“The Presence of Absence” is an unreliable archive allowing the viewer to explore fragmented images, omitted elements, layers of images and ultimately incomplete understandings.
View the full interactive publication here: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/8544c4dd06.html
Graphic Design 
Hazel Kim | Graphic Design
