The Roman Catholic Church defines Purgatory as “a state in which the souls of those who have died in grace must expiate their sins”. In other words these souls are spared the fires of hell, but they are excluded from Paradise.

What resonates with me about this notion is not the need for expiation, but rather the concept of a place that is neither here nor there; a place that, in effect, is nowhere. Similarly the spaces in these images are ones that we only occupy in transit, no one stays or truly “inhabits” them. As Llorenç Rosanes puts it, these spaces are “lacking in emotion and memory”.

When people are not occupying them for the transitory purposes they’re designed for, they feel as though energy has stopped radiating in and from them, as though time there has slowly ground to a halt and congealed altogether.

Part of Alexis’ continuing “Purgatory” series. 

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Aamora member Alexis Gerard co-authored Going Visual, founded Future Image and 6Sight® & is a member of the International Advisory Council of the George Eastman House. View his Flickr photostream or his aamora contributions.