Forest Road, Back Door, from the Pieces of String series,

2013

For his project Pieces of String, Justin Kimball accompanied his brother Doug, an auctioneer, as he surveyed the items left behind in abandoned homes in the American Northeast. After the death or disappearance of the inhabitant, the brothers would search the homes with very different goals. As Doug worked to empty the house and reserve all valuable objects for resale, Justin sought out traces of the inhabitant’s life—"the smallest objects (a note, a box of hairpins, a stain on a pillow)." This image evokes the missing inhabitant’s deep isolation while demonstrating the persistence of community and mutual aid.