Erosion of Spectacle

Description

On November 15, 2021 a major storm broke a 1.5 million kg barge free from its anchor, spawning the emergency shutdown of a major bridge until it sunk into the soft sands of Sunset Beach in Vancouver. After multiple failed recovery attempts, the barge was left on the beach for almost a year, till crews gradually eroded the barge from the water. However, the temporary presence of the barge changed the landscape by transforming it into a place of spectacle. A lost giant alien object imposing its presence in the most obvious way. And yet it seemed invisible as it became a part of the landscape. In the early days of its arrival, the idea of its temporary existence caused an eruption of Twitter accounts, while enthusiastic crowds flocked to the beach to pay a visit and take selfies. After a while, it seemed to be there as a background that spotlighted a display of everyday life. To look at the barge from different vantage points was to look at the performance of everyday life by people around it. Photographs in this book are made in an attempt to remember the barge as a spectacle. The violent intrusion of a different industrial world into the social sphere created a sense of familiarity with the unfamiliar. This series captures the reactions, as well as the new social space created by something so simple as a barge filled with grain created for a while.

Sara Faridamin
Pages: 88
Softcover, A5 inch, Perfect Bound
Limited Edition of 300
ISBN: 978-1-7388611-2-5