The Shelter that Wasn’t

I took this picture during a walk in a neighbourhood I hadn’t explored before. I ended up there by chance. As often when I go out for a photo session, I didn’t have a particular aim. I let my mind take the backseat and follow whatever direction my eyes, my heart or my feet take. This is what my longtime friend and partner-in-art Alexandre Dulaunoy defines as The Art of Getting Lost.

The sky was grey. It wasn’t one of those gorgeous overcast days that allow me to ‘paint’ so easily with light and shadows.

Due to the coronavirus lockdown, there was almost nobody on the streets. I felt relaxed and happy. I guess that, for a street photographer, confinement is a great opportunity to wander, letting their gaze (and their lens) capture the surrounding environment, while of course minding physical distances should they encounter fellow humans.

When I came across the chamber depicted above, reading the sign saying ‘this place is empty’, I wondered what happened, what was the story behind its shutdown. Who are the owners? What kind of venue was it?

I could have researched it, looked it up on a search engine or ask around have I encountered someone (no single soul was to be seen). I could have asked my local friends who might have known the place.

But some questions are better left unanswered. I prefer writing in my mind a fictitious story, riding my imagination, giving viewers an opportunity to create their own stories.

Don’t they say a picture is worth a thousand words?

Stay safe, stay sane and, please, reconsider how narrow a place we’ve been giving to art in our lives.