Destroy Destroy Destroy

DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY presents unexpected visual parallels observed and recorded in everyday life. The oscillation between the mundane and politically charged is linked by a Pinteresque sense of existential absurdism. A distinct representation of humanity’s urge to destroy is equally as present in photos of broken-down benches and tattooed far-right symbols. Diverse depictions of otherness placed among the well-known and the belonging are an enticing starting point of questioning the definition of isolation or disturbance within what we are accustomed to. Words such as “raw”, “authentic”, and “intense” are on the verge of losing all meaning due to overuse, just as the word war lost all meaning to Hemingway, and Dada saw no meaning in logic. Their erosion is closely connected to attempts of accurately describing contemporary photography, which gravitates toward an unrefined aesthetic of banality that has been slowly but consistently developing since Boston School’s proto-punk photography.

Adapting to its zeitgeist, it takes on different stylistic approaches, but in its essence carries a distinct sense of averseness towards overdone perfection. In such photographs, the observer can recognize that reality, while rarely pleasing or beautiful, evokes a more recognizable sense of beauty, one that derives from familiarity and leads to uncensored societal conclusions. This style combined with Širec’s search for everyday eccentricity leads to peculiar sense of confronting the urban areas and their effects on humans, through an altered point of view. The effects of Durkheim’s collective effervescence are evident in bizarre acts of both profane and targeted rituals, uniting nations, friend groups, and ideological parties – all of these presented in Ema Širec’s series. These scenes are punctuated by photos of isolated individuals and inanimate objects – which, in light of an intrinsically destructive society, carry an unmistakable air of detachment from their more adjusted surroundings. By dissecting the trivial and exposing the ill-fitted pieces of the well-known landscape, Ema Širec creates visual Martian poetry, a world seen anew. Strange, outlandish, and unsavoury.

Sara Nuša Golob Grabner