The philosopher, Jacques Derrida, wrote that traces are the “mark of the absence of a presence.”  For Bob Tanner, traces are connections to memories of a shared life. Through his photographs, Bob has been exploring his understanding of mortality and ephemerality for over twenty years. The photographs in his series, Traces, were made soon after Bob’s wife died, and in locations familiar to them both.

In describing his work, Bob Tanner states: "Birth, growth, love, maturation, decline, erosion, death, disappearance, knowledge, beauty, ephemera, craters, lumps, wrinkles, marks, traces. All are descriptors of what we see, feel and experience during our lives. At a certain point we become aware of and acknowledge the constant alterations to ourselves, to those we love, to those who share our lives, and to the human and natural landscapes that surround us. Reality steps in and becomes an acknowledged part of our human journey."