What happens when a building or a space is left unattended? What happens when it’s no longer valued or used? I decided to poke around in the basement of an old building to find out. In the dark, dust, and cobwebs, I found this discarded, well used leather chair. It was probably a treasured piece of furniture sitting behind a desk, conveying authority or stature. Who sat in it? Did s/he wear a hole into the armrest with a nervous tick? Where did s/he go? Why did no one else adopt this chair to read or work in?
On to the bathroom where women once powdered their noses, checked their lipstick, and…you know. It’s hard to imagine this place looking nice or at least usable. How does all this dust and grime accumulate? I mean, where does dust come from when no one is around to make it? I can’t help but wonder what made the paint on the ceiling peel like this. No one ever bothers a ceiling. I would think the ceiling would be the most untouched by time. I find hope in knowing that no matter how abandoned this place is, the light still comes to visit everyday.
As I make my way out of the basement, I notice this overly used hinge on a rusty door and its peeling frame. It has been bowed by time and maybe by being yanked open and slammed closed. Someone once cared enough to paint the door orange to match the institutional tile. The frame has been painted a crisp white so many times that it seems to hide a secret. When did they decide this doorway was no longer worth repainting? What people have passed through this doorway, toward or away from something? Why have they forsaken this place? Who knows, but this is the outcome.
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