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Contributing Writer Memory, Objects & Elegiac Prose

Marta Vidal

Marta Vidal is a writer and archivist whose work explores what physical objects hold — letters, worn photographs, things kept against all practical reason. She has contributed to Light & Composition since 2016. A photograph for Marta is always a form of preservation, something the photographer chose to keep. Her Reflections open with a specific object and arrive, gently, at what it means when the moment has long passed.

389 Published Reflections

Reflections by Marta Vidal

Showing 12 of 389 essays
The Weight of a Name Photo of the Day
March 17, 2017

The Weight of a Name

I keep a small, rusted key in a velvet pouch, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold against the palm, and carries the phantom weight of a home that no longer exists. We spend our lives collecting these fragments—the keys to rooms we cannot […]
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The Weight of a Gaze Photo of the Day
March 16, 2017

The Weight of a Gaze

I keep a small, tarnished brass key in a velvet-lined box, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold to the touch, and carries the faint, metallic scent of a time when my house was full of people who are no longer here. We hold […]
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The Weight of Stillness Photo of the Day
March 4, 2017

The Weight of Stillness

I keep a small, smooth river stone on my desk, worn down by years of water passing over it until it feels like silk against the palm. It is a quiet thing, heavy with the patience of a thousand seasons spent waiting for the current to change. We often mistake stillness for an absence of […]
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The Weight of a Ribbon Photo of the Day
February 25, 2017

The Weight of a Ribbon

I keep a silk ribbon in a small wooden box, the kind that once held a child’s hair in place during a summer that felt like it would never end. The silk is frayed now, losing its luster, yet when I touch it, I am pulled back to the sensation of wind against skin and […]
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The Weight of the Watchful Photo of the Day
February 24, 2017

The Weight of the Watchful

I keep a small, rusted brass key in a velvet-lined box, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold to the touch, and carries the faint, metallic scent of a time when locks were sturdy and secrets were kept behind iron. Sometimes, I turn it […]
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The Weight of the Season Photo of the Day
February 21, 2017

The Weight of the Season

I keep a small, tarnished silver spoon in my kitchen drawer, its handle worn smooth by the grip of a grandmother I only knew through stories. It is heavy for its size, a weight that speaks of long afternoons spent stirring pots until the air grew thick with the scent of earth and slow-cooked patience. […]
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The Weight of the Tide Photo of the Day
February 19, 2017

The Weight of the Tide

I keep a small, smooth stone in my pocket that I found on a beach many years ago. It is worn down by the constant, rhythmic friction of the ocean, a testament to the patience of water against stone. There is a quiet dignity in things that are shaped by their labor, things that have […]
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The Map of Our Years Photo of the Day
February 16, 2017

The Map of Our Years

I keep a small, silver thimble in my desk drawer that belonged to my grandmother. It is dented, the metal worn thin by decades of pushing needles through heavy wool, and when I run my thumb over its surface, I can feel the ghost of her labor. We often think of our lives as a […]
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The Mirror of Passing Time Photo of the Day
February 8, 2017

The Mirror of Passing Time

I keep a small, tarnished silver thimble in a velvet box, a relic from a grandmother who spent her afternoons mending what the world had worn thin. It is cold to the touch, yet it holds the weight of a thousand quiet hours spent stitching life back together. We often believe that time moves in […]
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The Weight of Our Footsteps Photo of the Day
January 27, 2017

The Weight of Our Footsteps

I keep a pair of my grandfather’s leather shoes in the back of my closet, the soles worn thin and uneven from years of pacing the same hallway. They are heavy, stiff with age, and carry the faint, lingering scent of cedar and dust. When I touch the cracked leather, I am reminded that we […]
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The Weight of What Remains Photo of the Day
January 16, 2017

The Weight of What Remains

I keep a small, rusted key in a velvet pouch, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold against the palm, a jagged piece of iron that once held the promise of entry or the security of a secret. We spend our lives gathering these […]
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The Weight of Arrival Photo of the Day
January 13, 2017

The Weight of Arrival

I keep a heavy brass key in the bottom drawer of my desk, one that no longer fits any lock I own. It is cool to the touch, worn smooth by the friction of a hand that once held it with purpose, perhaps in a hurry to reach a threshold or to finally leave one […]
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