Note · 21 May 2026
[ku] 03/26 Art
Hidden Places. Places That Open Up.
From the series Hidden Places, 2017 · Roman Thomas
A series about places that open up in passing. Urban spaces, often deserted and yet not empty. I do not photograph them to show them, but to hold on to a state.
Places That Open Up
I collect these places the way other people collect found objects. They appear in the middle of everyday life. A staircase, a facade, a courtyard where the light tips for a moment. I stop because something is off, and precisely for that reason it is right.
The pictures are not likenesses. They are states. Often no one is in sight, and yet the places do not feel empty but charged. As if someone had just left, or as if someone were about to arrive.
These pictures are not likenesses. They are states.
Between Recognition and Irritation
For me, space is nothing fixed. It takes shape only in the act of seeing. A stairwell is not simply a stairwell, it is what perception makes of it. Hidden Places moves precisely within this tension. You know what you are seeing, and a moment later you are no longer sure.
I work in large formats and with great calm. Nothing is staged. I wait until the place is ready, and I give up part of the control.
What Remains
The works are printed as pigment prints on Hahnemühle FineArt paper, in large formats and small editions. The paper absorbs the light without throwing it back. So the image stays calm, even on the wall. The series has so far been shown in four solo exhibitions.