Everyone is familiar with the thought experiment “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” A riddle for the ages. The local artists of In Our Absence are interested in exploring what happens in environments they feel intimately connected to when they are not there. Using infrared motion-sensor camera traps, Amjad Faur documents a hunting reserve just south of Olympia, while Paula Rebsom documents her backyard in Greenwood. Both look to highlight parallels between their own experiences in these spaces and what happens when neither of them is around. by Jas Keimig