Immortality is Commonplace, 2020 -
As we are currently witnessing what is often called the sixth mass extinction, photography is facing a new challenge. It can either respond with acting upon the “rescuist” impulse which often arises under such dark prospects (by keeping endangered species alive in the form of an image), or follow a more self-reflective path.
Immortality is Commonplace uses lichens — the symbiotical growth of algae, fungus and bacteria — as a metaphor through which to explore the precariousness of our environmental conditions. The resulting photograph which is normally said to immortalise turns out to be a trap, as lichens are organisms which become less likely to die as they grow older. This work investigates how photographing extraordinarily durable organisms in times of ecological instability challenges the notion of photography as an embalming practice.
