Objects of Absence

"Objects of Absence explores Irish Ghost Estates—housing developments abandoned after the 2008 financial crisis—using psychogeographical methods. Beyond mere decay, Shona Hunt found that the most haunting details were the absence of expected elements, such as doors without handles and empty electrical sockets with wires spilling out. These objects of absence—fragments of interrupted lives and dreams—become powerful symbols in her installation of a staged room. The walls comprise plaster moulds, some from direct casts made on site, others of the missing objects or the overgrown plants reclaiming these houses.

Once symbols of prosperity, the proliferation of such ‘new ruins’ is not unique to Ireland but reflects a broader trend of abandonment under speculative capitalism and neoliberalism. This project acknowledges the emotional weight and collective mourning at the heart of these economies."