In "The Children's Melody," Eli Durst explores the very serious absurdities of collective identity formation, through photographs made in environments including cotillion groups, dance practices, ROTC training, and school performances.
When read together, these images defamiliarize everyday life, questioning the relationship between the individual and the institution, between the margins and the center. In sequence, they lay bare how invisible cultural forces shape us into who we become. To borrow a phrase from Judith Butler, which is itself a reformulation of Sartre: “What is done to me, and what is it I do with what is done to me?"
Durst's monograph will be released this fall through Gnomic Book. There will be an artist talk and book signing at First Light Books on September 16 at 6pm. More info on the event here.