Imprints in tracks: Strange movement of the trace
Trace, in philosophy, often refers to the absence of a presence, like an animal track left in the sand. If made recently, the animal might be tracked and found, and the tension of the trace might seem resolved. Yet the presence of the animal is not the same as the gentle contact of its paw imprinted in the warm earth, held in the gaze of a tracker at a distance, in time and space, from the animal itself. Derrida famously deployed trace in relation to the endless deferrals present in a sign. Trace, in French, carries strong connotations of track and imprint. Yet for Derrida, the traces of the other that point outwards from the sign are never reconciled or reunited with their origin: ‘This other is of course never to be found in its full being.’
, detail. Image courtesy and © Badger Bates_card.jpg)
