Displays of Absence

Materials: Printed papers, vinyl, adhesive tape, spray paint, aluminium, glass / Dimensions: 100x70 cm / Year: 2026

Displays of Absence explores places caught in a state of transition—situations whose sense of time remains deliberately undefined. It is unclear what has happened or what might happen next. These are spaces in waiting, suspended between a former use and an uncertain future. The works were created specifically for the CAL Salon 2026 and are the first visual studies for an evolving series. They open up the possibility of moving beyond the two-dimensional image and continuing the exploration of the space between showing and concealing, absence and memory, through constructed objects and spatial installations.

Displays of Absence takes its starting point from the windows and display cases of abandoned shops. Stripped of their original function, these spaces develop an unintended visual language: paper, tape, chalk paint, fading surfaces and remnants of former use form accidental compositions. At the heart of the work are emptiness, silence and absence. Emptiness is understood not as complete absence, but as a space in which traces of what once was remain. What is no longer visible opens up possibilities for memory, reconstruction and imagination. The remaining fragments become starting points for imagined narratives.

Time itself becomes a material. After a shop closes, its appearance continues to change through weathering, fading, stickers, graffiti and other interventions. These successive traces create overlapping temporal layers. Glass plays an active role in this process. Working both behind and directly on its surface allows different visual and temporal layers to overlap. It separates and connects, reflects and conceals, while the aluminium frame echoes the structure of the shop window itself.

Displays of Absence deliberately incorporates materials associated with neglect, improvisation and decay. The visual language of the shop window—originally designed to attract attention and create desire—is transformed into something paradoxical: a display in which there is ultimately nothing left to sell.