Monolith is a continuous contact sheet constituted of over 3000 colour negatives, a
flowing image that becomes an object in it’s own right. It aims to question the complicity of the
photographer in a saturated image society, in which an over production and consumption of
photographs blurs notions of truth and fixed reality. 

 

“The enlargement of a snapshot does not simply render more precise what in any case was visible, though unclear: it reveals entirely new structural formations of the subject“ (Walter Benjamin, 1935)

 

As I began exploring the basis of Walter Benjamin's seminal book 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction', I considered it in the context of social media use in the age of the internet. The ability for humans to capture moments in time has become widely accessible and instantaneous. Whilst this comes with fruitful benefits, it has the double effect of diminishing the significance of singular images, creating an image society that prioritises consumption over innate worth. 

 

This has in turn impacted the affect of analogue production and imagery. The notion of the print as the final product of a negative has become increasingly obsolete, with a presentation of photographs on Instagram, for example, taking precedent over a printing process. 'Monolith' therefore aims to shine light on technological developments and their impact on the way we both produce and view images. Through presenting every colour photograph I have ever taken on a single print, I question the tools of image production we have become so accustomed to, emphasising the importance of preserving analogue printing techniques.