Friday 24 April 2015

"Break Down" by Michael Landy

Matthew suggested I had a look into the work of Michael Landy, who explored consumerist culture, and his own problem with it. He created a catalogue of every single item he owned; furniture, clothing, ornaments, personal possessions that held important memories, and then destroyed them in a specialist machine. The results, to me, where impressive and really does show how much of a consumerist culture we have become.

"The list took three years to complete and it contained 7,227 items. Then, with the help of a large machine and an overall-clad team of operatives, he set about destroying it all. After two weeks nothing but powder remained." (Artangel, 2001)



Although my series focusses on hoarding and the collection of items, consumerism is a small factor of how people collect items that mean something to them. Photographing these specific items in order, such as the bottom image shown below, might give some meaning to these items, and why the individual feels the need to collect them. I hope experimenting with this concept may bring some meaning to the series, and insight into the individual lifestyle and choices, without giving too much away to the viewer.





http://www.artangel.org.uk//projects/2001/break_down/about_the_project/break_down

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