Belonging

These affiliations thrive in togetherness; they are not exclusive, nor do they claim to be absolute. There are countless of them; they can be a net for us, catch us, serve as a safety net, flatter us, or be the result of hard work. We often strive for them—as a response to loneliness.

At the same time, there are affiliations that are not a home. More than that, a reversal of the favorite place. They unsettle us, bear witness to pain, document loss or persistent absence. For affiliation is not always something we choose for ourselves. Then the familiar feeling of belonging offers no refuge and yet holds us fast. Recognizable to us, to others, or to no one.

And what do missing connections tell us and mean to us? Connections within societies, worlds, to others—access points that remain closed. Can these missing connections alone be a characteristic that attributes a sense of belonging to us? Can we, then, belong to the absence? Can one see the absence? Or can one only sense the absence of belonging between the subject and the one who presses the shutter?