Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen
ARTIST / FILMMAKER

Before After

(2023)

Pigment print on Tirage Baryté (Ed. of 5)

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This diptych was photographed in Square de Jessaint - a small park near La Chapelle in Paris. For a period, it functioned as a temporary resting place for undocumented migrants. I passed this park every morning on my way to my studio.

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One morning, I photographed the space while people were still asleep — mattresses laid out by the circular steps. A few days later, I returned. The park had been cleared. There was no visible trace of anyone living there.

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Before – After reflects how we erase the presence of migrants, rather than the forces that compel them to move.

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