I saw them from the top floor of the double-decker bus where I sat, when I cycled through the city, sometimes when I walked in my neighbourhood.

The bunches of flowers laid on the floor or tied to a tree, the written messages, the photos – mementos, symbols of a presence that no longer is. There they remain like traces. Traces left on a main road or on the pavement near the corner shop or in a dead end in a council estate.

I’ve always been intrigued and saddened by the sight, curious to know what had happened, what the story behind the mementos was.

Some I discovered were linked to road accidents, and some were scenes of tragic crimes. The traces I ended up following were the ones whose stories told of teenagers and young adults involved in knife or gang related crimes.

I started taking pictures of sites that has been there for a long time then I noticed other sites marked with flowers and other mementos just for a brief period of time.

As I became aware of new teenage gang or knife crimes ending in tragedy I would go visit the site and record the scene.

The project started in 2012 and ended in 2014; I aimed to raise awareness on teenage gangs and knife culture, I wanted to know who the young people involved were and how they ended up being involved in knife Crime as well as to keep the memory of the absence of those who died alive.  

Most of the flowers, notes and mementos that parents, relatives, friends and the community lay down in memory of their loss will eventually be removed and places will be cleared. But my images will remain as a tribute to those who are no more, and as a constant reminder for people to work harder to find a solution to this social problem that devastates the lives of so many.

During my 2 years journey I learned about tragedies resilience and hope. I met some amazing people, some of which I became friend with.

You can see some extras ( images and video interviews)  on the blog I created when I started the project :

scaripresenceabsence.blogspot.com

At the moment knife crime is at the highest level since 2011 in England and Wales and it seems there are hardly any effective tools or strategies to tackle it.

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