The series *Without View* is part of the body of work *Conditions of Seeing* and explores asphalt as the everyday, often overlooked foundation of our cities. The material supports us, connects places, and seals surfaces—yet remains virtually invisible as long as it functions.
In serial tableaux, each comprising 24 photographs, the sidewalks of a single location are documented: a village, a neighborhood, or a metropolis. The images predominantly show shades of gray, surfaces, repairs, and traces of use, heat, and time. The origin, size, or status of a place cannot be discerned from the images. Expectations are subverted: urban centers appear just as interchangeable as small towns, and diversity and monotony are distributed in surprising ways.
Only the title of a tableau—the name of the place—adds context and alters perception. The image itself remains unchanged, yet the perspective shifts. The work reveals how strongly vision is shaped by knowledge, attribution, and expectation.
Here, asphalt appears not as a technical necessity, but as an aesthetic, multi-layered surface and as a silent chronicle of urban movement. At the same time, the series alludes to the sealing of our cities and its ecological consequences, without explicitly depicting them. Without a view, it calls for a precise, unhurried contemplation of what is supposedly taken for granted.