There's a little living room on the second floor at my parent's house. It's home to ancient books, old radios, a TV from the 1950s, a big wooden desk, and even a display cabinet with some old phones and model trains.

In between a shelf and the frame of the door, there's a vertical and narrow bit of empty wall. You wouldn't even notice it, but my dad asked me to make a vertical panorama so they could hang it there and fill that barren space.

What's up with this aversion for empty spaces? Why do we need to fill everything with stuff?

I grew up in this culture, like most in a Western country: gather as many things as possible and fill your life with them. The bigger the house and the more things in it, the better.

This is probably why I find so much peace in photography: it's a medium that allows my imagination to create a more simple version of this busy and crazy world. Somewhere where I have room to breathe, somewhere where I can contemplate and admire one thing at a time, somewhere where I can escape to if even momentarily.

Emptiness doesn't mean nothing, quite the opposite. If we listen close enough, we will hear the music in silence. We will see the beauty and harmony in an empty space. We will feel the peace in tranquility.