Right now, Occupy Wall Street commemorates its one year anniversary by taking to the streets and getting arrested in droves. The movement’s viral visibility had gone down over the course of the last few months… until today. But what about the encampments? The tents? The little cities trying to present if not a unified voice against inequality then at least a unified feeling, idealistic pockets of utopia? Photographer Mark Strandquist captured what was left behind on Washington DC lawns after protestors were evicted for a project entitled Absence/Occupy , asking, “How will the movement be remembered?” Here is a simple series of photographs of bare, worn patches of ground, encircled by dirty leaves and stomped down grass, “ghost-like” imprints left behind. “They are evidence of their history and reflections of their commitment, but they are also natural objects devoid of human existence,” he explains, imbuing them with meaning. See them more than holes in the ground with this slideshow.
Photo credit: Mark Strandquist
Photo credit: Mark Strandquist
Photo credit: Mark Strandquist
Photo credit: Mark Strandquist
Photo credit: Mark Strandquist
Photo credit: Mark Strandquist
Photo credit: Mark Strandquist
Photo credit: Mark Strandquist
Photo credit: Mark Strandquist
Photo credit: Mark Strandquist