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Is shows that toxic places are not necessarily contaminated by a physical chemical - but can be toxic because of the absence of something (in this case representation) as well as the presence of something.

This visualization is missing a useful caption - so the main way this could be elaborated on would be to include more information!

The image is found.  It portrays order and sorting.  Categorisation of history.  It is also almost timeless within about a 40 year boundary - was this a choice?  

That toxic places can refer to an absence of something as well as a presence of something.

The picture does not have an extensive caption, yet it is powerful in itself. It makes me think about the accumulation of evidence, dusty boxes, waxed floors, and unexplored files. I am not sure whether the picture says something about toxicity —it would require the author to guides our analysis with an extensive caption. 

The caption suggests archive as a place—yet it does not develop the idea. Why is it a place? What kind of place? How is the image inviting viewers to see it as such? Are we talking about a particular material archive (e.g., a particular Californian archive)? Or archive as a historical figure?I like the idea, and the image is evocative – but the caption needs to do more work.

There is no information on this aspect. I suspect that this image was taken by the author. I like the composition: the tension between a full and empty space, clean and dusty... I also feel that the image suggests that the boxes of documents produce a clearly defined path…  It also reminds me of images that I have seen that refer to cold cases.On boxes, archives and (a)historical events: Marisol de la Cadena’s book, Earth Beings. She has a wonderful chapter on this: Story 4: Mariano’s archive. The eventfulness of the ahistorical. 

It is a powerful first image for the photo essay, and I like the image as it is, yet the caption needs to do more work.