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East/West

Presented in this series are images of the abandoned checkpoints that separate former eastern bloc countries from the West, particularly the Czech Republic from Austria and Germany. As remnants of the Iron Curtain, each checkpoint carries with it its own amount of history and aura. Today, each structure stands vacant and serves only as a hollow reminder that one is moving from one country to another. My aim with these images is not to capture memories of the drama that undoubtedly occurred at these checkpoints prior to 1989. Rather, I am interested in them as symbols of the perpetual change that takes place in Europe and beyond. Displayed along with the abandoned checkpoints are images of empty pedestals, discovered during my journeys throughout the region. Having had their statues removed for political or ideological reasons they are yet another reminder of the shifting status quo. The landscape bears the evidence of these upheavals and as an outsider I am hypersensitive to their marks. Ultimately, the images in this project function like time capsules. They give us a glimpse of the past, while also hinting at the potential for greater change ahead.