traverse(r) Momoka Omote

traverse(r) by photographer Momoka Omote is a photobook that profoundly reflects on the transition and transformation of land, language, and memory.

The title traverse(r) bridges the modern English word traverse with its Old French etymological origin, traverser. This subtle linguistic shift mirrors the irreversible metamorphosis of marginal settlements and abandoned villages around the Northern Alps, which, through depopulation, are gradually reclaimed by nature. Beyond whether it is pronounced, the bracketed (r) symbolizes the transitional period itself, as well as the faint traces and lingering echoes left behind through conversations during fieldwork.

Captured while traveling back and forth between two regions reconstructed as tourist destinations—where remembrance and oblivion coexist—these photographs go beyond merely archiving disappearance. Instead, they document the very process through which place, language, and memory drift with the passage of time. Amidst the fading presence of human life, the book quietly poses a question to the viewer: What remains, and what continues to resonate in silence?