I have been living in the same neighbourhood near Paris for more than 15 years now. Opposite my flat used to stand two houses inhabited by two elderly couples whom I would sometimes come across. They have recently moved to the countryside. The houses had remained empty for more than a year and the appearance of the area had started to change. The two properties then got sold off to some estate agents together with their plot of land. Early 2007, the demolition work started. I managed to get the authorization to take some pictures inside one of the houses. I proceeded with a sense of urgency while the demolition work had already started. The inside of the house had become a mere succession of empty spaces. While exploring the place, I tried to capture the elusive presence of the people who used to inhabit these walls. I photographed the traces of this presence : abandoned objects, traces and marks on the walls, the décor … I also took pictures of the empty rooms, the traces of dilapidation and neglect, all the accumulated dust, the smashed walls.