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The Essential Solitude (signed)

by Tereza Zelenkova

Photographs: Tereza Zelenkova

Publisher: Void

80 pages

Year: 2021

ISBN: 978-618-5479-14-5

Price: 50 €

Comments: 24 x 32 cm, 80 Pages, 1250 copies, hardcover.

"I had known of Dennis Severs’ House at 18 Folgate Street for at least ten years by the time I made these photographs. Its original owner, Dennis Severs, who I never had the chance to meet, must have been an incredibly spirited personality with a profound imagination. I can see some of the interests we would have shared, not least among them a mutual appreciation for period interiors. According to Walter Benjamin, the interior represents the universe for a private individual; a world “in which things are freed from the drudgery of being useful.” Indeed, usefulness and practicality are concepts largely foreign to Dennis Severs’ House, and to art in general. Still, it is enough to look out from one of the house’s windows facing the glass and steel high-rises of the City, to be reminded of some of the oppressive realities of contemporary life. The uncanny timelessness of Severs’ interiors, which are made up not only of countless artefacts carefully arranged in individual rooms that each represent a slightly different historical period, but also various smells and sounds, together resulting in a complete disorientation of the senses. There’s no dogmatism, though, and no desire for historical accuracy, just the ephemeral atmosphere of a dream that transports you to some non-specific time."— Tereza Zelenkova

After these past two years, many of us know more about solitude than we could ever have dreamed of before. Our homes’ interiors also became our exteriors, our workplaces, restaurants, cinemas, and much more. One must ask himself now, why someone would want to confine himself in such a manner voluntarily. Yet, when we look at the history of art and literature, solitude seems to be one of the most cherished abodes of creatives; and the interior, however impoverished, is the place in which fantastical occurrences are unsurpassable by any other voyage one might make.

‘The Essential Solitude’ was previously self-published in a small run. Featuring unpublished images and text, this new edition is the opportunity to spread this unique series to a broader audience.

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look inside

The Essential Solitude (signed)

by Tereza Zelenkova

Photographs: Tereza Zelenkova

Publisher: Void

80 pages

Year: 2021

ISBN: 978-618-5479-14-5

Price: 50 €

Comments: 24 x 32 cm, 80 Pages, 1250 copies, hardcover.

"I had known of Dennis Severs’ House at 18 Folgate Street for at least ten years by the time I made these photographs. Its original owner, Dennis Severs, who I never had the chance to meet, must have been an incredibly spirited personality with a profound imagination. I can see some of the interests we would have shared, not least among them a mutual appreciation for period interiors. According to Walter Benjamin, the interior represents the universe for a private individual; a world “in which things are freed from the drudgery of being useful.” Indeed, usefulness and practicality are concepts largely foreign to Dennis Severs’ House, and to art in general. Still, it is enough to look out from one of the house’s windows facing the glass and steel high-rises of the City, to be reminded of some of the oppressive realities of contemporary life. The uncanny timelessness of Severs’ interiors, which are made up not only of countless artefacts carefully arranged in individual rooms that each represent a slightly different historical period, but also various smells and sounds, together resulting in a complete disorientation of the senses. There’s no dogmatism, though, and no desire for historical accuracy, just the ephemeral atmosphere of a dream that transports you to some non-specific time."— Tereza Zelenkova

After these past two years, many of us know more about solitude than we could ever have dreamed of before. Our homes’ interiors also became our exteriors, our workplaces, restaurants, cinemas, and much more. One must ask himself now, why someone would want to confine himself in such a manner voluntarily. Yet, when we look at the history of art and literature, solitude seems to be one of the most cherished abodes of creatives; and the interior, however impoverished, is the place in which fantastical occurrences are unsurpassable by any other voyage one might make.

‘The Essential Solitude’ was previously self-published in a small run. Featuring unpublished images and text, this new edition is the opportunity to spread this unique series to a broader audience.

more books tagged »stilllife« | >> see all