__phony

_PHONY is a photobook probably about myself through snapshots of Budapest.

This book is the result of my abandonment of photography for a year. My disillusionment with the contemporary photography scene led me to question my own purpose with art. I was searching for different ways that are not defined by an elitism hiding behind false conceptuality.

Works of art balancing on the edge of self-praise, dominated by lengthy self-referential texts, often comprehensible and accessible only for a privileged few created a feeling of alienation and made me doubt my own role as an artist.

Feeling depressed, I threw myself into many different things unrelated to art, trying to redefine myself. Meanwhile, I started to take snapshots unconsciously. The resulting images not only capture the city of Budapest in 2016, but reflect my own inner turmoil as well. The act of making this book, the selection and the arranging of the visual material has become a therapeutic process for me.

The title leaves room for interpretation: on the one hand, the blank space invites the viewer to fill out the void. On the other hand, it highlights that instead of a professional photo equipment, the images were taken with my mobile phone. This emphasises that the technical apparatus does not necessarily increase the depth or the value of an artwork. Moreover, the title also evokes a disillusionment à la Holden Caulfield that – in a somewhat hypocritical fashion – dismisses everything that is fake, phony.

I do not wish to explain the methods behind the assembling of the book, because optimally, the order and the juxtaposition of the pictures draw up an inner narrative logic. I hope to invoke something in the viewer; either a symphony of feelings or a cacophony of thoughts.