In Japanese philosophy, emptiness is not the absence of something; it’s the presence of emptiness. Emptiness is something—it’s the absence of something and the presence of nothing. That’s also how you can view this photo. There are things on it—text, two figures, and an anarchist symbol—but there’s also a lot of space filled with nothing, and I find that quite beautiful. The space, however, isn’t truly empty. If you look closely, you see what resembles ripples. That’s because something has been painted over.
Emptiness sometimes invites presence, and that will come. The wall that now appears empty won’t stay that way for long. There will be graffiti again, or posters, images, or text. Who knows? So, I quickly captured the emptiness while it lasted.