A look at spaces left behind

In the musical Les Misérables, Marius sings of the 'empty chairs and empty tables' now that his friends from the student rebellion have died.

Photographer Ashley Gilbertson has taken photos of the bedrooms left behind by soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. These poignant reminders of loss show the personalities of their former occupants, now lost to the world.

The Shrine Down the Hall

The New York Times Magazine put twenty of her photographs together as a slideshow, along with the name, age, place, and circumstances of death for each one. Each name links to a picture of the person. My favourite, the one that really got me the most, was that of Private First Class Richard P. Langenbrunner, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, who died on April 17, 2007 in Rustamiyah, Iraq, of a suicide. He was 19 years old. His room has posters of Stargate SG-1 and Lord of the Rings; he has a replica of Bilbo Baggins' sword 'Sting' on his wall as well. There is a telescope in the window, pointed towards the heavens. The room strikes you as that of someone curious, imaginative, and ready to explore.

The photos are stark, black-and-white. They resonate with emptiness and remembrance, as shrines to loved ones now gone. A daughter's stuffed animals, a son's baseball trophies--the details of the things we surround ourselves with--they are all that remain. The photos themselves are moving, and the details worth contemplating.

What would remain of you when you die? How would your family remember you?

I read about this photoessay on Brandon's blog. Thanks, Brandon.