Photographer Barbara Iweins Documented All 12,795 Objects She Owns
A vibrator, a mold of teeth and metal combs to extract head lice: these are just some of the 12,795 objects that photographer Barbara Iweins captured when she set out to document every item she owns. The project, which is covered in the book Katalog and distilled into an accompanying exhibit of the same name at Rencontres d’Arles until 25 September, was sparked after Iweins moved houses for the 11th time. “When I started, I really believed that I was exhausted of moving home and moving my stuff around,” she tells CNN. “And then I realized that it wasn’t about that at all. It was more like an act of self-preservation—that doing something (for the series) every day was really about organizing my life in my head. It was a positive process.” The relatable and thought-provoking images not only amount to a story of Iweins’ life, but they also provide unique insight. She learned, for instance, that 16% of her items are blue, 22% of her clothes are black and 19% of her books are unread. More critically, the series serves as a reflection on people and their possessions, materialism and consumerism and the therapeutic aspect of decluttering. Learn more at CNN.
Image courtesy of Barbara Iweins
Via cnn.com link opens in a new window
