Some places seem to trap time. The bathroom of a nightclub—even in daylight—still hums with echoes of past nights: scratched walls, peeled stickers, etched mirrors, and the ghost of every reveler.
Time also lingers in cities. Berlin quietly exhales its wartime scars. Rome still whispers gladiators in the shadows of cardinals.
Photographer Paulien Oltheten will reside at the American Academy in Rome—an elegant estate of buildings and gardens on a hill, shaped by American architects and patrons. She’ll be there in September and October, riding through villages, exploring how space and society intertwine. She’ll search for Etruscan traces too—an ancient setup so different from ours.