The Frogotten Ones
Photos taken and post-processed by Czerina Zordilla
Essay by Jino Labitigan
Attics are home to things replaced by evolving technology, slowly being eaten up by dusts. They sit there for years, or even decades, as they wait to be discovered again after being forgotten temporarily. And when they see the light again, they find themselves in a new home. Some are lucky enough to find new owners, but some find themselves in the dark shelves of antique stores. It is there, where they would sit again and wait, crying out that they may be forgotten, this time, for good.
Vintage cameras, old bottles of whiskey, a toy collection, clocks, and vinyl records – these are just some of the typical things that can be found in antique stores. It’s amazing how these pigments of the past, coming from different places of different timelines, are gathered together in a single room, as if it is celebrating the fact that it had already done its purpose in the world, yet they might already be forgotten. Every single one of them has a story to tell, and each story is a mystery that we may never know.
It is a mystery, for it is unknown to us, and it’s something we may not be able to understand. But for those people who once held these things on their palms, they were memories. We make many different memories out of these pieces, and they will always be at the back of our minds. Different things have different values, depending on how one perceives it. Sometimes, we tend to give sentimental values to those little things that may not mean anything for other people, while something emotionally important to them may not be so special for us. And that’s what makes it special, because it is something that is personal. The timeliness of a material object may be the reason why they are forgotten, but the timelessness of the memories made from them is what makes it live on forever.
