gaelen pinnock

The original Clarke’s Bookshop was established in 1956 by Anthony Clarke. Situated in Long Street, it become an institution. Besides for it’s renown selling second-hand and out of print books on Southern Africa, it’s atmosphere was something of an experience. Almost every vertical surface was covered in bookshelves or prints. Creaking stairs at the back led to a series of low-ceilinged dark rooms, filled to the brim with bookshelves. I photographed various parts of the shop in 2012.

In 2013, Clarke’s moved to a new premiss. leaving behind an empty shell of leaning walls and cobwebbed corners. I went back and photographed the empty shop, choosing the exact same views as before. What was left were traces of a former use; dusty impressions of bookshelves; worn floors from 57 years of feet navigating the space; and of course my projected memories of a place that was no longer.

I have a fascination with disused, abandoned or changing spaces. The former inhabitants or contents of empty spaces leave impressions of their existence, lives or activities. Where traces are scattered or few, we can project memories or fantasies into these realms. I find a nostalgia in the memory of former use and a beauty in the disconsolation.