The Void We Leave


  • Photographer
    Oded Wagenstein
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention

How does it feel to get older? What do we leave here as we depart from this world? Why am I so obsessed with these question? 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 created a bond, and I returned to visit them few times per year since then, witnessing them as their country was drastically changing around them. The photo-taking was just a small fraction of the time we spent, I helped carry groceries; we saw Telenovelas together, and mainly, despite a language barrier, we talked. We talked about our fears as Delphin (seen in picture 2) 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." Most of the people in this project are no longer alive. Today I understand the urge I had to take their portrait in the first place. I was hoping that the camera, with its remarkable ability to freeze time, can help me to remember them. A small win in a hopeless war against aging and time.

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