From my teenage years, I have fond memories of sitting on a street corner or plaza, on a bench with a cola, watching passersby. Somehow, time passed both fast and slow, simultaneously. It felt like I could wait minutes upon hours for something compelling to happen, but then a certain person would appear and their actions, their look, their expression, or even just their vibe was like seeing a story unfold. Sometimes a moment, sometimes a day, sometimes an entire life. I always wanted a way to share these emotions with others.

A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to make a kind of coffee table book for people to flip through when they visited. It was a fun project, but the first version was something like “my random pictures that I like,” so I scrapped it and started trying to think of a theme for the book. This wasn't easy, as the story behind each photo seemed completely different to me. “It’s like comparing A to Z”, I thought. And so, the idea behind Abeceda was born.

As a celebration for the book launch, I hosted an exhibition where I got to see friends, strangers, colleagues, and family, to show off the photos and chat about their meaning and the work that went into them. It was so great to see so many smiling faces looking into my images with fascination.