Hylonicum

Light and its residues, by Nicola Polloni

Margins

Recess

The counterpart of Labours: people in the time freed from function – resting, playing, idling, waiting for nothing in particular. Recess is more than simple relief: the discipline of work persists as habit and inward demand, and aimless time has to be learned. These photographs follow that ambivalence – sometimes release, sometimes a quiet loss of bearings – on benches, beaches, and steps across several years of cities.

Person sitting alone on a chair beside water in Paris, with the Luxor Obelisk and Arc de Triomphe in the distance.
People sitting, resting, and moving on a broad outdoor staircase.
Two men sitting among work materials and traffic cones in a Beijing street.
Two people sitting outside a shop window, resting in front of reflected street text.
Cyclist riding along a broad urban road beside industrial buildings.
Silhouetted figure crossing a bridge with a bag, framed against an ornamental railing.
Person sitting near a bench and bicycle in a park, with a large cross behind them.
Black-and-white photo of three people in white martial arts uniforms practicing with short wooden sticks on a sunlit wooden platform in a park. They stand in a staggered line, extending their weapons forward, with blurred trees, spectators, railings, and water mist in the background.
Black-and-white photo of three people in white martial arts uniforms performing a coordinated movement with short wooden sticks. They are aligned diagonally on a wooden deck, partly framed by railings and strong shadows, with park visitors and trees blurred in the background.
Child watching adults practise in a park or public square.
Woman playing with a large fabric dragon-shaped kite in Beijing.
Woman playing with a large fabric dragon-shaped kite.
Older man smiling while playing a flute outdoors.
Group of women dancing in a public park.
People skating or cycling in a wide public square under a cloudy sky.
Two people using a public misting fountain in a park, with spray lit from behind.
Person running across shallow water on a Belgian beach near a rocky breakwater.
Swimmer doing front crawl in dark water.
Shirtless man sitting on rocks and looking out over the sea.
Woman with a large hat sitting on a bench in front of a lake in Beijing.
People resting and fishing by the water, with Istanbul’s urban shoreline behind them.
Person resting beside a waterfront railing, with a city across the water.
Two people sitting on a beach beside a fishing rod, looking towards the sea.
Person lying on sand beside bags in an open beach in Tokyo.
Four people standing, looking in different directions in Beijing.

Places and dates
Paris, 2013; Newcastle, 2018; Berlin, 2020; Leuven, 2021; Liège, Geraardsbergen, and Ostende, 2022; Namur, 2023; Messina, 2024; Istanbul, Beijing, and Tokyo, 2025; České Budějovice and Prague, 2026.