Rachelle Foucachon

The Transience of Being

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. To be human is to live with the reality of our own impermanence. We have many ways of expressing the passing of time in common language—the ravages of time, time as a thief, time slipping away or elapsing, time flowing or passing us by. Life is compared to a shadow, a mist, a breath, a flower blooming one day and fading the next.

But in the words of Viktor Frankl, “the transitoriness of our existence in no way makes it meaningless.” Perhaps it is the very transience of life which emphasizes its value, calling us to live meaningfully and treasure that which is fleeting. This sentiment is echoed in the Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy and in the phrase mono no aware—the “pathos of things.” It cultivates a deep sense of empathy towards the disappearing, seeing beauty in imperfection and transience.

The passing of time will always be anchored in this bittersweet paradox. The enjoyment and celebration of ephemerality is imbued with a melancholic sadness and the deep ache of loss, whether past or future. A compassionate appreciation of transience in no way downplays the ravages of time, but rather accepts them as inevitable. The violence of time, tearing the soul as Simone Weil says, also “projects the soul beyond time.”

The photographic act, often considered one of immortalization, is also one of transience, for the moment the shutter is released, that moment has forever disappeared. This is why the enjoyment of memories through pictures is always tinged with melancholy. At the heart of the photographic image is the notion of distance and absence.

In the same way, photograms represent an act of erasure and dissolution, leaving empty spaces where objects once were. They are at once traces of presence and traces of disappearance. Never exactly reproducible, they also mirror the uniqueness of each passing existence.

Human beings in their vulnerable state of impermanence remain meaning-seekers at heart. There will always be a certain longing to transcend the erosive effects of time and to find purpose beyond the ruthless finality of temporality. It is the fleeting character of time which reminds us of the precious and unique value of each human life and creates the pressing urge to partake in something that might outlast us.