Census Drawings
A man is not unique because of his peculiar talents; a man is unique in the clear and absolute sense that, as is each of his fellows, he is a being one with himself, indispensable, irreplaceable, inviolate.
Romano Guardini, The End of the Modern World
These images represent the Census drawings, an ongoing series. The history we are living has brought some of the themes in the work to the forefront.
They are a meditation on the meaning, truth or purpose of a census and reflect on the validity, acceptability, and adequacy of counting humans.
The idea of a census parallels the dilemma of unnamed human remains.
There are various biblical accounts of censuses that have different meanings depending on context. In one account the census taken is considered to be a
great spiritual affront. In other situations it is not. I found this curious and began to consider why a census might not be considered, nor is, a neutral act.
What is the validity, acceptability, adequacy of counting humans? When counting people becomes a necessity to run a society, to track a disaster or make sense of a mass tragedy, what are the consequences?
Romano Guardini, The End of the Modern World
These images represent the Census drawings, an ongoing series. The history we are living has brought some of the themes in the work to the forefront.
They are a meditation on the meaning, truth or purpose of a census and reflect on the validity, acceptability, and adequacy of counting humans.
The idea of a census parallels the dilemma of unnamed human remains.
There are various biblical accounts of censuses that have different meanings depending on context. In one account the census taken is considered to be a
great spiritual affront. In other situations it is not. I found this curious and began to consider why a census might not be considered, nor is, a neutral act.
What is the validity, acceptability, adequacy of counting humans? When counting people becomes a necessity to run a society, to track a disaster or make sense of a mass tragedy, what are the consequences?
