The work explores the theme of absence as expressed by the negative. The sculpture has the imprint of several hundred fragments of human heads and faces, with only the negative imprint remaining.

The title references a Paul Celan poem, and like Celan’s almond blossom, the negative traces hold both vulnerability and persistence. They are not immediately legible, yet they resonate with the viewer on an unconscious level – counted but not seen in full – invoking belonging through the void. Those absent are still named, still inscribed, and still part of what endures.

The process of fabrication involved the use of 3D scanning and manipulating a computer model. This was then deconstructed to be fabricated in slices using a flatbed laser cutter.