Details of Decay
Collapsing buildings and decomposing objects embody the passing of time, and perhaps, the sad ephemerality of life. Decay is frequently wrapped in an aura of negativity.
Embracing decay as an inherent part of humankind’s relationship with the world, Céline Murphy instead celebrates it. By zooming right in on surfaces, Céline’s photographs invite the viewer to take a closer, intimate, to look at the details of decay, at the tiny fragments of flaking, peeling, chipping, cracking and rusting materials. Each photograph – attractive at first glance for its bright colors – encourages the viewer to dive into the detail. Sometimes captivating for the texture it evokes and sometimes captivating for the pattern it projects, each photograph is a rejoicing of overlapping layers, contrasting hues, and meeting textures. Layer after layer, there is beauty in decay; there are relationships in decay, between materials, people, nature, animals; there is future in decay.
By zooming right in on surfaces, Céline’s photographs also provoke a range of questions. What were the causes of the surfaces’ alterations and decay? Were the cracks, scratches and bumps produced by human interference, be it accidental or deliberate, by animals, by the weather? Or is decay simply a natural process inherent to every material?
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